


Sunflowers

by Ramencat5



Series: Stray Littles <3 [4]
Category: ONEUS (Band), Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Age Regression, Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Bed-Wetting, Caregiver Jeongin, Crying, Cuddles, Diapers, Fever, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Insecurity, Kim Seungmin-centric, Little Chan, Little Dongju, Little Seungmin, Little Space, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pacifiers, Picnics, Pillow & Blanket Forts, SO MUCH FLUFF, Sickfic, Teethers, Vomiting, agere, ask to tag, babyspace, bottles, chapters have individual warnings, little hyunjin, pull-ups, sippy cups, snuggles, soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 44,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24249832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ramencat5/pseuds/Ramencat5
Summary: Scenarios with little! Seungmin and the rest of Stray Kids.A spin-off from Hideaway, chapters are relatively linear. I take requests in the comments!(Oneus in chapters 10 and 16!)
Relationships: Kim Seungmin & Yang Jeongin | I.N
Series: Stray Littles <3 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534106
Comments: 229
Kudos: 402





	1. lazy day in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little canon things about Seungmin that inspired me to write this:
> 
> ☆ loves sweater paws + flapping them  
> ☆ da da da  
> ☆ as a baby he didn't wanna be weaned off his paci  
> ☆ called his paci 'ju' and didn't know the word for a paci  
> ☆ "Lix, I made a mess."  
> ☆ keeps his puppy stuffie on his bed
> 
> :)

Seungmin sighed, furiously rubbing his face. He couldn't wait to get back to the dorm - none of the members could, really. All of them were exhausted beyond compare, having been through a solid month of photoshoots, recordings, interviews, concerts, anything and everything promotional for their comeback. The adrenaline rush of the activities had finally worn off, draining them.

"If anyone even dares to wake me up I might actually hit them on instinct." Minho warned.

"Same." Changbin yawned, leaning back onto Hyunjin, not that the younger minded.

Their car arrived first, and the four of them tiredly shed their clothes and washed their makeup off, grateful to be able to spend a good couple of hours in bed. They were free for the next week, so alarms could be ignored and productivity be damned.

"Night." Seungmin crawled into bed, forgoing his nightly ritual of checking on the other members in favour of sleep. He curled up with his stuffed dog, dozing off while contemplating a name for it for the hundredth time.

"Hyung, you're seriously going out tomorrow? It's a free day!" Felix turned to Chan. "You could stay home and chill."

"My kind of chilling is taking a walk outside, getting some fresh air. I don't want to be cooped up indoors, at least not for tomorrow. You know how I am when I don't have work to do."

"You get antsy," Jisung replied, "We know. For once I'm not staying in either, I promised Minho hyung we'd go on a café date. You know, to get myself out of bed and whatnot."

"Jeongin? Any plans?" The maknae nodded against Chan's side, already half asleep. Felix couldn't help but poke his cheek. He looked adorable when sleepy, reminding them that Jeongin was in fact the maknae.

"I'm gonna go to an amusement park with Hyunjin hyung. Either that or go sightseeing, I'm not sure which."

Felix smiled. "Have fun, then."

The next morning Felix found himself alone in his room, waking up to a sticky note on his forehead. He took one look at the doodled face and grinned. "Minho hyung, you dork."

_Everyone's going out, so don't freak out when you wake up. See you in the afternoon, maybe <3_

Felix stuck the note in a drawer and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth, stopping in his tracks when he heard rustling from another room.

"Ah, hyung..."

He relaxed. Judging from the voice it was Seungmin. He dropped by the younger's room after washing up, slightly surprised to see him in bed on his stomach, thumb in mouth, arm wrapped around his stuffed puppy and legs kicking up behind him.

"Hey."

Seungmin startled, abruptly sitting up and pulling his thumb out of his mouth. "Oh h-hey Lix. Didn't know you were here."

"Lee Know hyung got you too?"

"Yeah. He's silly like that." Felix could see him making an effort to stay still, though he wiggled his toes in place of swinging his legs off the bed.

"Seung, are you-"

"I just called Innie, he said you were home but I- I can wait until he's back this evening-" he blurted out.

"Seungmin, it's okay. You've had a busy, stressful month, yeah? You can regress, I'll take care of you." Felix enveloped him in a back hug.

Seungmin melted in his arms. "Was trying to be little, but it's hard."

"It's okay if you need help, bubby. That's what I'm here for. Now, let's get those teeth cleaned and some breakfast in our tummies, hm?"

They decided to watch a movie after breakfast, Felix getting his laptop out while Seungmin grabbed a cup of water.

"Lixie, I made a mess," Seungmin called out.

Felix left the younger's room and headed to the kitchen to see Seungmin pouting with a cup in his hand, his now soaked shirt clinging to him.

"It's okay sweetie." Felix gently pried the cup from his hold and set it down, then led him back to his room to change.

"What do you wanna wear?"

"You pick," Seungmin decided, playing with his fingers. Felix dressed him in a large fuzzy sweater, the sleeves coming well past his fingers. Seungmin smiled fondly, rubbing it against his cheek.

"Lix, have you ever watched Bolt?"

"Nope."

Seungmin gasped, jumping onto his bed to reach the laptop. "But it's so so so good! My pup loves it, and I love it too. See, there's a doggy and..." Felix climbed in beside him while he explained, the little pressing himself against Felix's hoodie and flapping his sweater paws in excitement once he hit play.

Seungmin stopped bouncing in his seat about a half hour later, engrossed in the movie with his sleeve between his teeth. Felix found himself enjoying the movie too, reacting with similar enthusiasm.

A lazy movie day was exactly what he wanted.

All too soon the movie ended. Seungmin was content with playing pretend with his puppy, acting out movie scenes and running around the dorm. Felix settled on playing games, checking on Seungmin every once in a while.

He was grateful for all the food the members' parents sent them, because it meant a well-stocked fridge full of meal options. He made the both of them lunch, answering calls from others in the middle of the meal - Chan would be home in a while, Jeongin and Hyunjin soon after. It was still a long wait, but Felix had no objections. Spending time with little Seungmin was never a bother for him.

"Open wide for the airplane!" Felix fed Seungmin easily. The boy was the opposite of a picky eater, eager to gobble down anything that tasted good.

After lunch was naptime, so Felix tucked Seungmin in using his starry blanket before grabbing his laptop and relocating to his room.

An hour or so passed when Felix stood up and stretched his legs. "I should wake Seungmin up."

As he approached the other bedroom he heard a faint whimper and out came Seungmin with watery eyes and a wobbly lip. He clutched his stuffie harder upon seeing Felix, backpedalling to hide behind the doorframe.

"Lix... I made a mess again." He lowered his head and inched forward, revealing a wet patch on his pants.

"Oh Minnie, come here." Felix pulled Seungmin into his arms.

The younger burst into tears. "S-s-sorry... I din' mean to... an' the bed..."

"Shh, we can clean it up, it's okay," Felix rubbed his back. "I'll give you a bath first, you need to get into clean clothes."

Seungmin sniffled, pulling away once he stopped crying. "Ju?"

"You want your ju?" Felix asked softly as Seungmin barely nodded. He seemed to be feeling younger.

'Ju', as little Seungmin called it, sticking to his childhood nickname for the item, was his pacifier. The purple soother had a paw print on the button, the handle covered in letter beads that read 'pup'. It was a recent addition to Seungmin's small collection of regression things, a gift customized for him by Jeongin but purchased by Chan.

Seungmin was usually too embarrassed or shy to openly use his pacifier, despite enjoying it more than he would like to admit. He kept it shoved in the back of a drawer until the depths of the night when no one was awake to see him, the only exception being Jeongin.

"Here baby boy." Felix retrieved the pacifier and wiped it off, placing it in Seungmin's open mouth. The little instantly relaxed, letting out a small sigh as he sucked. He shuffled alongside Felix to the bathroom, whining at the cold air against his legs as he was undressed. Soon enough he settled in the bathtub and swirled the soapy water around.

Felix cleaned him up, dressed him and placed him down on the bedroom floor before tackling the mess on the bed. Luckily it wasn't too bad. He finished scrubbing it clean quickly, the little entertaining himself with his stuffed dog.

"Hey puppy dog." Felix set Seungmin back onto his bed. He squeaked.

"You like that name?"

Seungmin's eyes turned into crescents as he smiled. "It li'e when da says pup."

Felix hummed. "Now what do you wanna do?"

Felix ended up making a small pillow fort in the living room for the two of them, swaddling Seungmin in his blanket and giving him a bottle of milk while they watched cartoons. Seungmin clung to his side for the most part, only moving to put his head in Felix's lap once his bottle was empty.

"You love cuddles, don't you."

Seungmin hummed. "Dada can't fo' long, 'ickles."

"Innie is pretty ticklish," Felix agreed, cooing at Seungmin as he leaned up to rub his nose against Felix's freckled cheek. "You're precious, Minnie."

Seungmin beamed, babbling behind his pacifier. "Da da da."

Jeongin returned to see both of them asleep on each other surrounded in a bunch of blanket folds and squealed so loud he woke them up, but they only blinked at him and snuggled closer, waiting for him to wash up and join them.

"Were you good for Lix hyung, pup?" Jeongin carded through Seungmin's hair.

"He was the best baby boy," Felix said, looking down at Seungmin in his lap.

"Oopsie?" The little frowned. Felix kissed his forehead.

"He had an accident, but no worries," he explained. "He's an angel."

Jeongin smiled. "You've been good, pup."

Seungmin watched them with wide, innocent eyes before nodding. "Good fo' dada an' Fefe."

He decided to sleep with Felix instead of Jeongin that night, taking advantage of all the cuddles he could get.


	2. feel icky, dada (but i can't say it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JiminWreckedSugaBias requested: "If requests are still open, can you write one where Seungmin feels little at dance practice but he hides it and doesnt tell anyone, but he falls into Felix and gets hurt, and when they get back to the dorm that's when he finally slips into baby space?"
> 
> Thank you for being my first request! I had a burst of inspiration and wrote most of this in a day. It kind of turned into a sickfic, I hope that's alright! <3 Enjoy!

Seungmin had a headache.

That was the first thing that registered in his mind when he woke up from a nap right after lunch. The second thing he noticed was he was lethargic, feeling weak and faint. His limbs felt like jelly, and he absolutely did not want to stand up and do things today.

Unfortunately, he had to stand up and do things. Specifically, he had to go and film a dance practice video with the rest of his members. He knew it would only take an hour at most, and then he'd have the rest of the day off. He could manage until then.

Seungmin hated feeling sick or physically unwell. It was why he always complained when Minho would catch a cold, or why he slept with the air conditioning off. He was always extra careful to keep his health in check, because when he actually did end up getting sick he'd have the urge to be taken care of, manifesting into a need to be little.

He absentmindedly fiddled with the moon ring around his finger as everyone gathered in the dance studio.

"Just this dance practice," he mumbled to himself, getting into position. The cameras started rolling, and they danced.

The first attempt went well, but the managers wanted a second run-through for comparison. Han had messed one move up, prompting them to start over. Then Seungmin felt a sudden bout of fuzziness in his head, zoning out and missing his cue to move to the centre.

"Sorry guys, I blanked out." He shrugged with a chuckle, and they started again a third time. He really hoped it would be the last time, with every move he felt sicker. Shoving his headspace aside was becoming more difficult. He noticed he was about to miss a step and moved sideways to dance on beat, overestimating how far he needed to go.

He nearly stumbled into Felix, who was dancing in the back beside him, and tried to steady himself. But his tiredness was catching up to him and he tripped, losing his footing. Then he _did_ collide with Felix, the two of them sprawling to the floor.

Seungmin didn't have enough time to brace himself for impact, crashing onto his side and skidding for a second. A dull pain shot through him where his body landed on his closed fist.

Felix seemed to have more luck on his side, landing on his hands and knees. He brushed the dirt off his clothes and held a hand out to Seungmin. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Seungmin took his hand and pulled himself to his feet, gritting his teeth. His side and arm ached, making his regression surface. Little Seungmin hated getting hurt, so regressing was a big no. He chose to hide his feelings again, burying them im the back of his head.

All he could think of was that he had knocked Felix over and stopped the dance practice again, meaning they would have to restart filming for the fourth time. Not to mention he was being filmed. He was sure the footage would be used as a behind the scenes clip somewhere, and he couldn't afford to let his pain, or little side, be publicly known.

Plus, admitting that he was hurt would bring the attention of all the other members plus the dozen or so managers onto him, and he couldn't allow that. He would inevitably slip into headspace, and it would be downhill from there. It was one thing for the members to see him regress, but at the company building? Seungmin would rather crawl into a hole.

_Just five more minutes of dancing. I can do this._

This time he focused all his energy into dancing, making facial expressions, making sure the final version of the video was passable. It took all the strength in him to keep from collapsing once they were done and given the green light to go home. He waited until he was sure no one would be looking his way to put on his backpack, unable to hide a wince and a quiet whimper as his arm seared with pain. He would check that when they got to the dorm.

"Hey Minnie." Felix moved to pull Seungmin into a back hug, unaware that he was brushing against an injury with the full sleeves the younger was wearing. Seungmin shook him off quickly, shaking his head. Nope, he could not handle skinship right now. He was already teetering dangerously on the edge of littlespace.

"Please don't," he mumbled. Felix didn't question him, shrugging it off.

The car ride to the dorm was hard for Seungmin. He was too busy trying to stay awake and big, which was exhausting with the way his head pounded and his shoulder strap rubbed his arm. Once again, he twisted Jeongin's ring around his finger to keep himself occupied.

"You alright? You're awfully quiet." Chan tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm okay, hyung. Just tired."

He all but ran into the bathroom when they got inside and dumped their bags, fumbling for their first aid kit. He nearly dropped it in his frenzy, but caught it and placed it on the counter.

"Moment of truth, Seungmin," he sighed, pulling off his shirt. He removed his right arm last, peeling the grey fabric off his skin.

His breath hitched as he gazed at the red splotch of blood on his sleeve, right where his elbow had been. Turning his arm over exposed an elbow scrape covered in dried, caked-up blood. A less serious scratch stretched over his forearm, the top layer of skin having been grazed when he slid across the floor. It didn't look like it had been bleeding, but Seungmin audibly hissed when he touched it gingerly.

He hesitantly removed his shirt from where he'd been holding it at his stomach. A reddish bruise was forming right above his hip, and his lip wobbled at the thought of it aching for days. His head felt fuzzy again, and his legs decided to give out from weakness, causing him to collapse on the floor with a loud yelp.

"Seungmin?"

Hyunjin's voice. Said member twisted the doorknob and the door swung open. Seungmin looked up at him defeatedly with glassy eyes, balling up his shirt.

"I- I'm-"

_Don't cry don't cry don't cry-_

"You're not okay," Hyunjin said.

Seungmin's resolve crumbled in an instant, eyes filling and tears streaming down his cheeks. As strong as he was mentally, he couldn't pretend he was fine for any longer. He felt too sick, too weak, too scared, finally submitting to his more vulnerable side.

"Dada, wan' dada!" Seungmin cried, curling up. His dada could make him feel better. He always did.

"Innie!" Hyunjin sat down in front of Seungmin to wipe his tears away. "Innie get in here!"

Jeongin rushed into view, Minho and Chan with him.

"What's going on?" Changbin's voice came from somewhere behind them. It seemed that all the members were there, huddled somewhere in the back. They could hear Seungmin's wails echoing loudly off the bathroom walls.

"What- what happened?" Jeongin asked. Hyunjin switched places with him, sitting the maknae down.

"Dada," Seungmin mumbled, grabbing onto Jeongin. The maknae's eyes widened.

"Oh Minnie, I'm here." He pulled Seungmin into his lap, being careful not to touch his arm. "These happened when you fell, right?"

Minho bent down near them to examine Seungmin's scrapes and bruises, opening up the first aid kit. "Someone get me an ice pack or a pack of frozen veggies."

"I don't think he's ever slipped because of an injury. He must have been feeling small from before." Chan mused. Seungmin pressed his face into the crook of I.N's neck, sobbing harder in guilty confirmation.

"Pup? You're burning up." Jeongin frowned, feeling Seungmin's forehead and back. He was definitely hot to touch.

Felix wordlessly handed Minho a bundle of ice cubes wrapped in a handkerchief before retreating. "Innie, this is gonna sting him," Minho spoke softly, soaking a washcloth in water.

Jeongin nodded, rubbing Seungmin's back to soothe him. "Hey pup, my sweet aegi, my brave little boy, Lee Know hyung's gonna help with your boo-boos, okay? But it'll hurt a bit. Dada will be right here with you."

Seungmin nodded wearily, blindly reaching for Jeongin's hand with a sniff before Minho began to clean his elbow.

Pressing himself into his caregiver, Seungmin mewled, squeezing his hand. He didn't want to see what was going on, it would only hurt more if he watched. The cool washcloth against his feverish skin felt nice. Someone held a separate cloth and the ice pack to his bruise, the abrupt temperature clash uncomfortable. He screamed, clutching Jeongin.

"Shh pup, I'm right here. There's nothing to be scared of."

Seungmin wasn't giving him any verbal responses, a telltale sign of babyspace. Jeongin sighed. Seungmin's pain tolerance fell depending on how little he was, and currently he was probably the youngest he had ever been - he'd never gone nonverbal before.

Well, there was a first time for everything.

"You did so well Seungminnie," Minho cooed, patting his arm. Chan removed the ice from the little's side a while later when it began to melt.

Seungmin pulled away from Jeongin enough to glance at his elbow, now covered in a dinosaur band-aid, and let out a small noise, shivering.

"Let's go somewhere comfy, hmm?" Jeongin carried him to his bed, away from the gazes of the six others, and dressed him in an oversized shirt. Seungmin winced when he tilted to his other side to lie down, Jeongin noticed, poking a finger into his waistband.

"Does that dig into your owie?" Jeongin already knew the answer to that question, rummaging through Seungmin's regression items. Once he found what he was looking for he went back to Seungmin, handing him his stuffed dog. Then he worked on changing him out of his pants and into a soft diaper, which would irritate his bruise less. He knew he'd get an earful from an embarrassed Seungmin in the morning, but he knew deep down Seungmin would be grateful.

The little clung to his stuffie, babbling quietly. Jeongin took the time to retrieve a baby bottle full of water for him, pulling him into his lap and swaddling him with a blanket to help with his chills.

"Come on aegi, drink some water. It'll help you feel less sick." He nudged the nipple into Seungmin's mouth, coaxing him to drink most of the bottle's contents.

"Good job pup. I love you so much, you know that? You'll be better in no time." He trailed down Seungmin's arm with gentle kisses.

Seungmin snuggled him with a gurgle, feelings of love and safety outweighing everything else.


	3. lil channie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LilithStarlight requested me to write this adorable prompt! "If you don't mind me dropping a request here, I'm always a sucker for little Chan,, do you think you would be down to write smth where chan wants to try being little so he asks seungmin for help? And when seungmin helps him slip, chan is Extra Cute so seungmin slips too and they just have a cute day together?"
> 
> I was washing my hair (with baby shampoo, hehe that's a tmi) and got a great idea for this one. Here you go <3

"Hey Seungmin."

The door creaked open. Seungmin squinted from his spot in his bed, trying to figure out who it was. It was Chan.

"Hyung," he acknowledged. From the corner of his eye he noticed the leader rubbing his neck and locking the door behind him. Seungmin put his phone down.

"I wanted to ask you something." Chan continued after Seungmin tilted his head. "It's about little space."

"Sure."

Seungmin was long past the embarrassment of speaking about his regression. It had been nearly impossible for him to even think of it before, back when it was new to him and he'd just confessed to the others. But over time he found that the members would be nothing but supportive of him, which made him more comfortable with the idea of regressing.

Chan climbed into his own bunk to level with him. "So I've been doing some research about age regression and all, and no matter how much I read about it I can't really figure out how... to regress. How do you regress?"

If he reached far enough he could grab the end of Seungmin's stuffed dog's tail, hanging over the bunk bed railing. He poked it while waiting for a response.

Seungmin hummed.

"See, it's like you're aware that you're an adult, and in theory you can do adult things and think big complex thoughts, but you just don't want to. You just... you don't think too much about whether something is too immature or childish, you just do what makes you happy. I guess my thoughts become more simple, and I choose to ignore any adult responsibilities, 'maybe someone else can handle it for me for a while', that kind of thing?" He made air quotes with his fingers. "You know how you act cute or childish on purpose? It's basically like that, but on a larger, deeper scale."

Chan nodded, lifting the stuffed dog off Seungmin's bed and into his arms. He rolled onto his back to stare at the ceiling with a small smile. "I think I want to try regressing."

Now, if you knew Chan personally, you knew that past his intimidating neutral face and leader aura he was nothing more than a very friendly teddy bear. Or at least, a teddy bear enthusiast. Seungmin still remembered how huge the teddy bear on Chan's bed in Australia was, and he had resisted the urge to squeeze it until Chan's family wasn't around to see him. In the set for a filming he'd also seen a giant teddy bear, and Chan all but ran into it and childishly played around with it for a while.

Other than that, Seungmin had to admit Chan was pretty adorable. He acted cute on purpose and would get teased by the others, but deep down everyone was fond of his soft side. Seungmin saw the glimmer in Chan's eyes when he found kid's toys, or played with stickers and markers to decorate fan gifts, and even when he had playful fights with the members over snacks.

Overall, Seungmin was less than surprised.

"Okay hyung, where do you want to start? You wanna play with something, get dressed into something comfy, do you want anyone in particular to stick around and talk you down? Or..."

Chan's ears reddened. Seungmin swore he saw the leader smile for a second before hastily shaking his head.

"Just you for now. And I want to try now, if you have nothing else to do, I mean."

"Of course, hyung."

"We can start by dropping the honorifics." He clutched the stuffie to his chest, avoiding eye contact. "What... how do I pick an age for my headspace?"

"You don't have to." Seungmin shrugged when Chan looked his way. "I know a lot of people say they stick to one age, like for example four years old. Then there are some people who regress to different ages, but they can put a number to the boundaries. Say, an age range of three to six, something like that."

Chan nodded to let him know he was listening.

"For me, I never really liked thinking of a specific age. So many things overlap between different ages, and it gets confusing to put all my habits into tiny little boxes, like hmm, yes, today I'm going to be five and only five. And then I'd have to dump out the five box and stick to it. No, I just do what's comfortable. All those tiny age boxes are emptied onto the floor and I pick whatever feels right in the moment. I hope that makes sense."

The members had noticed Seungmin's headspace was more of a spectrum, ranging from very young to almost a middle space. They never questioned it, but made an effort to be prepared for whatever he felt he needed for stress relief.

"If I had to pick though," Seungmin added, "I guess I range from babyspace to eight years old?"

"I get it." Chan lifted his head. "Can I change into somethin' comfy?"

"Sure Channie. You wanna pick something really big and soft?"

Chan eagerly nodded.

The two of them slipped out of bed and went through Chan's closet, settling on a big t-shirt, shorts and a beanie. Seungmin yanked the hat past Chan's nose to cover his face, making the older laugh.

"Minnie, I can't see!" Chan readjusted the beanie, brushing messy hair out of his eyes with a giggle. His freckles were just barely visible. Seungmin wondered if he had been sitting by the window earlier.

"You're so cute," he said.

"Nooo," Chan whined, tugging his hat down again and hiding behind his hands, his sleeves forming paws. "Channie doesn't know how to be cute."

Only the crescents of Chan's eyes peeked through from between his fingers. Seungmin couldn't help but pinch Chan's cheek, melting with every second Chan eased into his headspace.

"But you're the cutest baby ever!"

"M' not cute, m' too big."

Chan repeated himself a bit more incoherently, shying away from Seungmin while discovering the joy of babbling.

"Too big? You're tiny!" Seungmin couldn't help but dive into the warm, fuzzy part of his brain as Chan babbled a response. He giggled softly. Chan instantly recognized the change in his voice.

"Minnie little?"

Seungmin beamed, nodding. "Channie's a baby!" He exclaimed.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Hey Channie." Seungmin cupped his face, pulling his hands away. "Peekaboo!"

Chan squealed, biting his sleeve. Seungmin took the chance to rub his own sleeve paws in Chan's face, leading to a playful war of swatting each other's faces in a fit of giggles.

Chan managed to push Seungmin away, still laughing gleefully, and at that moment Seungmin realized how much fun it was to have a playmate around.

"How old are you Channie?"

Chan pulled his sleeve down to free his fingers, holding three of them up. "Dis much! An' Minnie?"

"Hmm, I dunno. Seven?"

Chan nodded, puffing his cheeks. "I'm a big fishy, gonna eat chu!" He chased Seungmin around the room for a while, pretending to bite him when Seungmin stopped running.

"Oh no, you got me," Seungmin collapsed dramatically. "But now I'm a giant shark, and I eat cute fishies!"

Chan squealed, toddling around. Seungmin could've easily caught up to him, but instead chose to walk around at a slightly fast pace to keep the game going.

"Shark chomp shark chomp!" He chanted, grabbing Chan eventually to kiss his nose. "Shark kiss shark kiss."

"Ewww Minnie, you got spit on me!" Chan squeaked. He rubbed his nose, letting Seungmin pull him into a hug.

"Sorry."

"It okay." Chan placed his head on Seungmin's shoulder, relishing the feeling. "We watch cartoons?"

"Let me get your laptop."

Seungmin set up a show and put an arm around Chan to keep him close. A while later Chan tugged his sleeve to grab his attention.

"Minnie, gotta potty."

"Okay, I'll take you." Seungmin grabbed his hand and unlocked the door, checking that the coast was clear before leading him to the nearest bathroom. Chan closed the door on him to do his business, exiting just as quickly to sprinkle water on Seungmin's face.

"Hey!"

Then Chan was pulling Seungmin's hand and heading to the edge of the wall, poking his head past the corner enough to see everyone lounging around in the living room and at the dining table.

A few heads turned to him and he tilted his head, grinning widely.

"You wanna tell them, bug?" Chan nodded. Seungmin gently ushered him forward with a hand on his back. The two of them stood in the middle of the room, in full view.

"May I have everyone's attention please!" Seungmin chirped, pretending to hold a microphone. "We have something to say."

He handed the imaginary mic to Chan, the older looking at Seungmin with a nervous pout. "Hey, you dragged me here, go on. Everyone's gonna love you."

Chan gave him a toothy grin and turned around to face the rest of the members, holding the imaginary mic. "Channie little!" He said proudly.

Seungmin nodded. "Channie's my little brother!"

A collective yell came from the others and Chan giggled, once again hiding behind his paws.

Seungmin smiled in satisfaction as the members crowded around a shy Chan to coo at him.

He did good.


	4. love me, please

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JiminWreckedSugaBias requested this one: "Seungmin notices Felix getting more attention and affection that himself so he gets lightly injured on purpose (stops being careful and maybe doesnt pay attention to tripping hazards, and maybe he doesnt drink water during dance practice so he gets dizzy by the end) because he noticed that it's the only way he can get attention anymore but he's caught by Chan and they all have a talk as a group and they give him more love?
> 
> That ones been on my mind for a WHILE"
> 
> Oooh this was fun to write, I'm a huge sucker for hurt/comfort and this was the perfect prompt to write in some conflict and resolution.

Stray Kids were known to be a family. They took care of each other and loved each other dearly, always making an effort to get along and keep each other close.

Usually.

Seungmin sighed, rubbing his eyes. He was thinking too much about it again, the idea keeping him up well into the night. Or rather, nights. He wasn't sure when it had started. But lately, he'd been noticing it a lot.

 _It_ being Felix having all eyes on him for most of the time.

Don't get him wrong, he loved Felix. The boy had a way with cheering anyone up at any given time by doing the simplest of things. What troubled Seungmin was that the same behaviour resulted in less attention for himself.

Currently he was thinking about the earlier events of the day. Jeongin was in one of his bad moods, and he had a tendency to shut out everyone equally on such days. The thought provided Seungmin with some vague comfort, knowing that he alone wasn't ignored when he knocked on the younger's door to comfort him only to be yelled at.

But then later he found that Felix had been successful in getting to Jeongin, hugging the younger and having a quiet conversation before dinner.

Seungmin would have thought nothing of it, but he'd been thinking nothing of too many instances. The time he had been struggling with lines but Felix had been given an extra lesson by the rappers, the time he found himself crying in the bathroom but no sooner had Changbin handed him a tissue did he leave to help Felix fall asleep, that one day when he'd had no interactions with the members for hours on end only to hear them talking to Felix and cuddling him. Too many group movie nights had excluded Seungmin, yet the members sought out Felix every time, even during the horror films he despised.

If he squinted he could see a pattern.

The next day started with a dance practice. Seungmin had been up early, as always, preparing for the day. And as always, he kept track of the other members. He handed Changbin a water bottle, steadied Jisung when he nearly tripped, made faces at Hyunjin to give him energy when he yawned - he definitely wasn't a morning person. And maybe it was an attempt to get more attention from everyone, but Seungmin wasn't going to dwell on that.

They started a concert playlist, going through multiple songs. Everything was fine, then _thud_.

"Seungmin! Seungmin are you okay?" Chan paused the music, then everyone was crowding around him.

One second Seungmin was dancing, the next he was on the floor.

"Ow." Seungmin sat up. "I got dizzy."

"Are you feeling okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" The genuine concern in Felix's voice filled Seungmin with comfort and a feeling he'd missed. He felt loved.

"I'm fine, just thirsty. I guess I didn't drink much water."

He was pleasantly surprised when Minho shoved a bottle into his lap, keeping a hand on his shoulder to keep him seated.

"Drink."

Seungmin gulped down half the water before standing up, motioning for them to resume dancing. Throughout the rest of the session he caught a few glances directed towards him. Jeongin checked again to make sure he wasn't hurt, and Chan ruffled his hair once they were done.

It hit him when he was slinging his backpack onto one shoulder and heading off to practice his vocals. If he couldn't get noticed normally, then maybe getting hurt or sick was the only way to stand out.

Seungmin wasn't an idiot, he wasn't about to make stupid decisions like purposefully getting sick to be noticed. But he did want some display of affection to know he was important. After that day he started being clumsy, just a little, to see if anyone would react.

There was a bright yellow sign on the floor, reading 'wet floor ahead' in big, bold letters. On a normal day Seungmin would avoid it and wait until it was dry, but he was with his hyungs, who hadn't noticed. He pretended not to see it either, strutting a few steps ahead of them.

"Yah, Kim Seungmin where are you going?" Minho yanked him back as he set foot on the slippery tiles. "You're going to fall and crack something."

He chuckled, letting Changbin hug him and make overly cute faces at him to pass the time.

Later, when they were making dinner Seungmin was chopping vegetables. He was trying to be helpful, and maybe take some credit for being useful. While waiting for Jisung to finish washing another handful of potatoes he sat at the table idly.

"Hey Lix, pass me that bag?" Chan asked.

Seungmin suppressed a scowl. He was sitting in front of said bag, watching as Felix nodded, picked it up and handed it to Chan. Felix wasn't even helping! He just happened to enter the kitchen to grab a soda.

"I'm right here," Seungmin muttered to himself, forcing a smile when Hyunjin unceremoniously dumped a few potatoes onto the chopping board.

Slice. _I'm trying to be useful_. Slice. _I'm trying to stand out_. Slice. _Maybe Felix should sit here and chop these_. Slice. _Why do I even bother_. Slice-

Seungmin hissed. "Why my thumb..." Even though it had been an accident, he made a show of dropping the knife onto the table and grabbing his hand. In his defense, the tiny slice on his thumb was beginning to burn, a drop of blood pooling at the edge of the cut.

"Did you get hurt?" It seemed that no one heard him over the sound of the faucet running, except for Felix, who was the closest. Leave it to freckles himself to show up when someone else is in need. Felix gently took his hand, biting his lip at the sight of an angry red line, even though it was small.

"Poked my thumb, I'll be right back. Make sure no bugs get on those!" Seungmin yanked his hand away and grabbed a tissue, later covering the cut in ointment and a band-aid.

"Funny," he sighed, looking at his reflection in the mirror. "Funny how Felix is always noticed simply for existing. I mean, what do I have to offer?"

He resumed chopping the vegetables in the end, and it was as if no one noticed he was gone, or if they had they didn't question it. Three and a half minutes (yes, Seungmin counted) wasn't much, so he let it slide. Maybe he was just being too clingy.

"Wait, I'm allowed to be clingy," he whispered. "I'm second-youngest."

"You say something, Minnie?" Jisung yelled.

He shouted back. "I'm done with the vegetables!"

He went looking for Jeongin immediately afterwards. At least he could find comfort in regressing on these days, when everyone would shower him with love.

"Innie Innie Innie, I want a bubble bath. It's been _so long_ ," he exaggerated, falling over the maknae's lap. "Kiss my thumb better?"

Jeongin kissed each of his fingers.

A few minutes later he was contentedly playing in the water, bubbles covering every inch of the surface to protect his modesty. He made a bubble beard, a bubble hat, and cleared a space in the water for a cluster of bubbles to float away.

"Hey Innie look, it's a bubble boat! Innie?" He looked up. Jeongin was standing at the door, having a conversation with Felix about a lego sculpture he saw in a store's display window. Seungmin sighed. "Innie?"

"Just a minute Minnie."

"But the bubbles are popping." He slunk further down into the water, covering his shoulders. Figures. Even when Seungmin was little Felix got the limelight.

They had an extremely long schedule one day. Long couldn't even begin to describe it. By the time they were heading to their last event - a photoshoot, it was dark out. Seungmin had gone first, posing for a good couple of photos before finishing up. He wandered around and took photos of the surroundings with his polaroid camera as the others took their turns.

"Don't get lost, Seungmin," Minho teased, getting into position in front of the cameras.

Seungmin chuckled, staying nearby to take a few more pictures. The moon looked gorgeous, and for once the sky was clear enough to see a few stars.

"Is that everyone?"

"I think so, we should be ready to leave right now."

Seungmin whipped his head around to see Minho and Jisung heading back to their van. The staff members were already putting the camera equipment away. It took him a second to register that he was a good couple of feet away from them. He watched his friends climb into the vehicle as he walked slowly. They closed the door.

When he neared the van he listened in on the members. Not that he was eavesdropping, but the window was rolled down. "Hey, is Felix here? He went right before me." Minho asked.

"Behind you, hyung."

Seungmin yanked the door open, just in time to hear Chan speak, half-asleep. "Where's Seungmin?"

"Right here."

"Wait, you're not in the front seat?" Changbin leaned forward. "Oh wait, no, that's Hyunjin."

Seungmin bit his lip. They really hadn't noticed him all by himself. He gave them the benefit of the doubt. It was late, half of them were asleep, he wasn't supposed to be out when he was done first.

_Stop making excuses for them._

Seungmin swallowed down his pain. "Maybe I don't deserve any attention. It's not like I stand out."

He skipped breakfast the next day, trying to see who noticed. Chan and Jisung asked him if he had eaten. Two out of seven other dorm-mates.

The next time he regressed he was more aggressive in wanting attention, this time throwing a tantrum when anyone who was watching over him left the room. Couldn't they see he wanted them to stay?

"Seungmin, I have class." Jeongin was already at school, but Chan had to leave for vocal lessons, right after Hyunjin had left. "There has to be someone who can keep you company, okay?"

"Fine." He pouted and stomped away when Chan left, plopping down in front of his colouring book. He coloured a page he'd been saving, a large flower bouquet he wanted to make pretty for his caregiver.

When he was done and satisfied he went around the dorm to find someone to assess his artwork. He found Changbin, smiling as he skipped up to the older. "Hey Binnie hyung, Binnie hyung will-"

"Seungmin, I'm on the phone." Changbin waved him off.

"But-"

"This is important."

He frowned, searching for someone else with loud stomps. He brightened at Felix. "Hey Lixie look! You think Innie will like it?" He held the open book up.

Felix nodded, focused on the game he was playing on his laptop. "Yeah, he'll like it."

"You didn't even look!"

"Did too," Felix mumbled, "Yes! Nailed it."

"Sure, and you saw the two-headed elephant I was riding on beside it."

Felix hummed, still engrossed in his game. Seungmin sighed. Was anyone else available? Jisung was sleeping, but Minho seemed free. Finally.

"Lee Know hyung, will Innie like this?"

"Of course he will! The flowers look so pretty!" Minho ruffled his hair.

"Thank you!" Seungmin beamed. "I'm bored, let's play dress-up!"

Minho nodded, heading to the door. "Where are you going? Don't leave." Seungmin whined.

"Relax, I'll be back in a minute."

Seungmin pouted, grabbing things from his own closet before moving to Minho's. He found lots of clothes that would look silly when paired together, including a bright blue hoodie he hadn't seen before. Fifteen minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Minho, so Seungmin went looking for him. "Hey Minho hyung, can I wear..."

He was in the room on the other side of the dorm. Of course he was busy with Felix. Of course they were cuddling, the game completed and abandoned. Of course no one was going to play with Seungmin.

"Fine, don't play dress-up!" He shouted, slamming the door behind him to put all the clothes away.

He stayed locked in his own room, hugging his stuffed dog wondering what he had done to deserve this. At one point he heard muffled voices outside. He pressed his ear to the door.

"He's been little a lot recently, do you know why?"

"No, Lee Know hyung, but I did notice him wanting some extra attention nowadays. The other day he knocked my cup over when I was reading something and spilled water onto the paper just so I could look at him."

"Innie, you were gonna throw that paper away."

"That's not the point! He kept smacking me with his dog for fun too, and I took it away for a while."

"Well, you weren't looking his way."

"Lix hyung, when he's that old he doesn't need me to look his way every waking second."

Seungmin covered his ears. He hadn't meant to tip the cup over, he had only nudged it a few times to see if Jeongin noticed. The stuffie incident was because Jeongin wasn't responding to his name being called over and over again, and taking the dog away hurt. It was his comfort item, and while he knew he'd annoyed Jeongin he couldn't help but feel bad about it.

"He's being a little bratty, huh? Maybe we should have a talk." Seungmin scrambled away when the door opened, pretending to look through his colouring book as Jeongin sat down beside him.

"Hey Minnie."

"Did this for you," Seungmin said quietly, handing him the book.

"Oh? It's beautiful, you even blended the colours in the flower petals!" Jeongin paused when Seungmin's pout wouldn't go away. "What's wrong?"

He couldn't hide it anymore. He wanted them to know what they'd been unknowingly doing to him for ages, but he couldn't find the right words to do so.

"Innie... missed you."

Jeongin cooed, lifting him off the floor. He positioned Seungmin directly in front on him, then looked past him. It was a game they hadn't played in a while, where Jeongin would pretend not to see Seungmin. The little would twist in his arms, looking directly into his face with a squeal, saying "Look here!"

Only this time it had the opposite effect. "Where's my Minnie?"

Seungmin burst into tears, cupping Jeongin's face. "Innie I'm right here, right here don't you see? Why does no one see me? Am I a ghost?"

Jeongin's eyes widened. "Pup-"

Seungmin pushed himself out of Jeongin's grasp. "Don't, you took my pup away that day, all I wanted was for you to look, I wanted to say I love you but you didn't listen, no one loves me anymore." He grabbed his bag and shoved his stuffed dog into it before storming out.

"Seungmin..." Jeongin went after him. He found Felix stopping Seungmin, pulling him into a hug.

"Stop, get off me." Seungmin shoved him off roughly. "Lix, I love you, but don't pretend like you need my attention. You already have everyone wrapped around your finger. I'm no one's first choice anyways."

He brushed past the freckled boy to put on his shoes, missing the sad look on his face. "Just... I'm going for a walk."

He slammed the door behind him, put on a mask and ran off. He needed to clear his head. When he was a good distance away from the building and he was sure he wasn't being followed he sighed, kicking at the sidewalk.

"What am I doing? I'm worrying them." The voice in his head told him to let them worry. It would be a sign that they cared. More often than not he found himself wondering if they even showed their affection to him at all. He wasn't asking for an 'I love you', no, he just wanted _something_. When was the last time someone had sought him out for a late night snack or to have a deep conversation?

He ended up walking to one of his favourite cafés. He drank a smoothie, then braced himself for what was to come on way back to the dorm. Upon checking his phone he realized it had been over an hour.

He was right to mentally prepare himself, because as soon as he set foot in his home he saw everyone sitting in an odd circle in the living room, all seven pairs of eyes on him.

 _There's your attention- oh shut up_. He rolled his eyes.

"Seungmin." Great. Chan was using that tone of voice. Seungmin knew making a run for it was futile, in the time he would need to take two steps to twist the doorknob Minho would be dragging him back in. The dancer had exceptional reflexes.

Seungmin numbly moved past them to toss his bag aside, grabbing his stuffie and sitting a good distance away from them where everyone could see him.

Chan took authority, as he usually did in these 'group meetings'. "You know what you're doing, Min. Why? Why are you acting out? It's like you want to be bratty nowadays. You haven't been taking care of yourself either."

Seungmin barked out a dry laugh. "Please. Why do you care?"

"Seungmin, we're worried. You've been acting weird recently and we want to know why, we want to know if you're okay."

Seungmin scoffed, feeling a mixture of anger and despair bubbling up inside him. "Why, do you _care_?"

"Seungmin... we care about you. Of course we do." Chan was quiet, concerned.

Seungmin was already showing them the tip of the iceberg, so he might as well dive into the deep, icy waters that had been drenching his thoughts for too long.

"Then why don't you act like it? Huh? You don't know why I'm being like this, do you? Seungmin, quit being a brat. You don't stop to think _why_ I'm being bratty in headspace, the one thing I'd take to for peace and comfort. Seungmin's being clumsy, Seungmin's not taking care of himself like he used to, quiet bookish Seungmin rejected Felix's hug because he didn't think Felix seriously wanted to give him the time of day," he panted, taking a moment to catch his breath as each word came out more urgent than the last.

"Oh no, Seungmin fell at dance practice, time to focus on him _for once in our lives_. It's like I'm invisible unless something happens that directly involves me. You guys almost forgot I wasn't in the van the other day. I've been pushed away and ignored too many times, why should I have to go to anyone? Isn't it enough to want a sign of affection just because we live in the same space? It's like my existence isn't enough to be acknowledged, like I'm not important, like I don't matter."

He heard a gasp and finally lifted his head. Most of the members gaped at him in stunned silence, save for Chan, who tilted his head to stare at the ceiling and try to hold back a wave of tears.

"Seungmin just wants half the attention that Felix gets simply by being there. He's the sunshine, bringing a smile to everyone's faces, he's talented and charming and cute and innocent, he has freckles and a unique voice and- and what do I have to offer? To stand out? I'm just... an afterthought."

He curled in on himself, knowing all his pent-up emotions were out in the open now. He wanted to disappear, feeling too small, too vulnerable in front of his closest friends.

"No you're not." Felix wiped a tear away, moving towards Seungmin. "You're not an afterthought. We wouldn't be Stray Kids without you, please know that. I think... I think I can speak for everyone when I say we're all so, so sorry for neglecting to show you how much we love you, and how much you mean to us."

The apology struck a chord within Seungmin, and he sucked his lip between his teeth to think. "I... I'm sorry I pushed you away, Lix. I felt like you were trying to get my attention and I guess I got jealous. Whenever I want some attention everyone's busy with...you."

Felix sniffed. "Minnie, I wanted to give _you_ attention. You looked troubled. Now I know why. I'm sorry. We're sorry."

"You- you're always there." His face crumpled, and Felix looked equally sad.

"Gosh, Seungmin, we didn't even notice we weren't showing you anything, we weren't giving you any indication that we cared and that was the problem. We're to blame. I'm so sorry. We'll make up for it starting right now," Chan murmured.

Jeongin groaned. "We're such _idiots_. And I'm sorry I took your dog away. There's no excuse for that, as a caregiver I shouldn't take away your comfort items to punish you, and I shouldn't have even punished you. You just wanted some love and I was too dense to notice."

"Apology accepted. I want a hug," Seungmin admitted in a whisper, clutching his stuffed dog close.

Hyunjin was the first to slam into him at full force with a contrasting tight, warm hug. Then Jisung, then Felix and Jeongin, then everyone was piled into a group hug. The numbness Seungmin had felt dissipated, replaced by the urge to cry.

"Um, Minnie knows Minnie don't gotta ask, but can Minnie cry now?" Seungmin only ever spoke in third person when he was feeling weird about regressing. He really, really wanted to be little.

He heard someone whimper, probably Jeongin considering how he tensed. "You haven't cried about it at all, pup? Except for earlier?"

Yup, a very sympathetic Jeongin.

"No, Minnie thought... not real problem. Then Minnie know it big problem. But only Minnie know, so no crying."

"If you feel bad, let it out. It's okay to cry. It was a real problem, but we'll fix it." Jisung petted his head.

Seungmin surprised himself when, instead of letting out loud ugly sobs, he cried almost silently, shoulders shaking with every hitched breath. He was grateful for the hugs and warmth of the others, their touch soothing him immensely.

He never had to worry about being neglected ever again, the members made sure to check up on him and include him after that day. He received more cuddles, spent more time with the others, and on days he wanted some extra love all he had to do was find someone and tell them. They would drop whatever they were doing to make him feel better. He wasn't complaining about Chan making sure he ate three meals a day, or for Felix still apologizing for accidentally having all the attention on himself.

"Lix, you pure-hearted angel, it wasn't really your fault. I already forgave you."

Felix hugged him tighter, turning away from the movie they were watching to gaze at him. "You can be sure that I'll never forget about you."

"I don't doubt that, you cuddle me every day now."

Felix grinned. "Just showing some love."


	5. help me be comfy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LectriceAnonyme asked: Could you write one were Seungmin is super sick and he temporarily lose his bladder control because of it ?   
> And IN make him wear diapers because of it but Seungmin is embarrassed so the others members reassure him and cuddle with him ?
> 
> Here you go! This is surprisingly similar to an idea I had a few days before you sent this. I hope this fits your request :)
> 
> Warnings: vomiting, vomit mention, incontinence/bladder issues.

Seungmin was mortified.

He had just woken up from a short nap and moved to kick off his blanket when he felt a familiar warm wetness around his lower half.

"Damnit." He shot up, feeling the sheets beneath him with one hand and clamping the other to his mouth. Wait, sheets? Last he remembered he had fallen asleep on a blanket on the couch, exhausted after returning from the doctor's. He'd thrown up first thing in the morning, when the sun was just peeking out over the horizon. Since then he'd been feverish, nauseous, had an accident while retching into a toilet bowl, then had another one out of the blue when he suddenly felt a painful and intense need to go. By then the members figured he needed professional medical help.

They told him he had the stomach flu and an infection down there, which only embarrassed him further to know why he wasn't able to control his bladder. At least it was temporary. He was sent back to the dorm with the knowledge that he'd be fine in a week, hopefully.

"What, what's wrong, you look like you're going to be sick again." Chan was sitting by his feet, and Jeongin was on the floor dragging the trashcan closer to Seungmin.

He whimpered, shaking his head. "Um, I... it happened again," he squeaked. Humiliation knotted in the pit of his stomach as he pushed the blanket off his legs and stood up weakly, immediately grabbing onto the bedframe.

"Hey, it's okay, we can clean it up. I put your rubber sheet under the bedsheets just in case." Jeongin shrugged.

"My..." Seungmin felt his entire face heat up, which was saying a lot considering his skin was already burning at a high temperature. "And I'm supposed to stay hydrated."

"Drinking less water won't help. Now come on, let's get you cleaned up." Chan put Seungmin's arm around his neck, but the younger protested.

"Wait." His stomach churned. " _Now_ I'm gonna be sick again."

In a flash he was hunched over the trashcan, grateful for Chan holding his hair back and rubbing his shoulders in a soothing manner. When he was finally able to pull back he slumped against Chan, grabbing a water bottle to rinse his mouth.

"I'm so gross, I keep making a mess." He let out a sad laugh that faded into a teary whine. "I'm sorry, everything feels hot and hurts and I don't want to move, I'm making you guys take care of me even though you might get sick because of me, I, I don't want any of this."

"Ah hyung, don't cry, it's okay. Really. We're all here for you. Well, Chan hyung and I kicked everyone out so you could have some peace in here." Jeongin handed him a tissue. "We know you're very sick, you can't help it. Come on, you have to change into something dry. I, um, I have an idea that could help with the... accidents, but you might not like it."

Chan shared a knowing look with him before turning to Seungmin, wiping his face for him. "Hey Minnie, do you want to regress? Would that help?"

Seungmin shook his head again. "No, I feel so bad that being little might make things worse." There was a contemplative pause. "Can I go with Innie?"

Jeongin helped him to the bathroom and wiped him down with a few wet wipes, tossing his soiled clothes into the washing machine. Seungmin's oversized shirt went down to his knees, hiding the fact that he was naked from the waist down. Shuffling to the side, he sat on the edge of the bathtub, glancing at Jeongin curiously when the maknae opened the cabinet.

"Don't hate me for this, hyung, but it's for your own good." He pulled out a diaper and held it up.

Seungmin's hands flew to his face. "I should have known."

"It'll keep any messes contained, and you'll be less stressed about drinking fluids or resting. Come on, it's not that bad."

"I know, I want to wear one anyways, it's just that I'm not little right now."

"Would you like to be treated like you're little? To be spoken to really gently and held until you're comforted?" Jeongin offered. "You might still be big, but everyone wants to be taken care of when they're sick."

"Yes please." Seungmin dropped his hands, clasping and unclasping them. "I'm getting cold."

Jeongin nodded. "Alright, stand up so I can make you comfortable." He later dressed Seungmin in a hoodie and sweatpants, both to help with his chills and help him sweat out his fever later.

"No."

"Hyung-"

"No. You can't make me leave my room, my legs hurt anyways." Seungmin was currently burying his face in a pillow, ignoring Jeongin's requests to get some food because of the embarrassment that set in as soon as he had stepped out of the bathroom, the diaper crinkling loudly every time he moved.

"Yes I can. Up we go." Jeongin lifted him up, one arm behind his knees and another supporting his upper back and shoulders. Seungmin squeaked, grabbing onto Jeongin's neck.

"I hate you."

"You'll hate me more if I don't make you eat. You have nothing in your body right now."

Jeongin carried him to the dining room, placing him down in front of a bowl of soup.

"He's finally here." Minho smiled at them from the kitchen. "I made it with love and care and all that mushy goodness so you better eat it well."

"Thank you," Seungmin mumbled, letting Jeongin feed him spoonfuls. He finished the entire bowl, which felt like an accomplishment. Jeongin seemed to notice.

"Yay, you finished the soup without feeling sick." Jeongin cheered quietly, making Seungmin smile, and put the dishes away. "What do you want to do now?"

Some of the members were watching TV, huddled together in a snug cuddle pile. Seungmin wanted to wrap himself in a blanket and join in, with an animated movie playing in the background.

"I want to watch something."

"Okay, we can do that." He spoke softly.

"But... but the others!"

"What about the others?" Changbin peered over the edge of the sofa to face them.

Seungmin reached for his cup of water and slowly drank from it to avoid answering.

Jeongin sighed, noting how he shivered. "Pick a movie, I'll be right back."

When he returned he picked Seungmin up again and carefully laid him down on Felix, Changbin and Jisung's laps, all of whom were sitting on the couch. The crinkling beneath Seungmin was audible to everyone in the vicinity, but he couldn't find the energy to glare at Jeongin. Then the maknae dropped Seungmin's blanket on him.

"Everyone, tell Seungmin hyung you guys won't make fun of him. He wants to watch something but won't tell you guys because he's embarrassed to be around anyone wearing a diaper, you know, necessary protection that none of us would tease him for." Seungmin shrank under Jeongin's gaze.

"Do you have to be so blunt about it?"

"Yep." Jeongin sat down beside Hyunjin and Chan on the floor.

"Oh Minnie, we would never." Felix pulled him up and draped his blanket around him. "We just want you to get better soon, and it doesn't matter if you have accidents and need diapers. We still love you the same."

Felix's hugs always soothed him.

"Seung-min-nie!" Changbin all but squeezed the breath out of him in an attempt to reassure him.

"Bin hyung, it hurts," he whined.

The other members said reassuring words, Chan played with his hair, Minho asked him what he wanted to watch and set it up.

Then there was Jisung by his feet.

"Hey Minnie, are they the diapers with the cute animals and baby things on them? They're adorable!"

"Yeah, they're super cute!" Jisung's enthusiasm was contagious, Seungmin found. His eyes widened when he realized how loud he was being, and he chuckled nervously.

"You're cute." Felix hugged him tighter, patting his bottom. "Is it comfy?"

"Yeah." His voice came out small.

"You know, just because you're shy about these things doesn't mean we are too. The other day Hannie and I were looking through baby items online, and oh gosh there was the cutest onesie with stars all over it, and I was like maybe we should get one for Seungmin."

"It was from a weird store though." Jisung shuddered. "But another store had cute diapers with elephants on them."

Felix squealed. "Oh yeah!"

They were trying to normalize discussing such topics, and it was working. Seungmin found himself relaxing a little more.

"Maybe you can call me the next time you go on a deep dive on the internet." He smiled.

They cuddled him all throughout the movie, save for when he needed a change and they had to pause for him and Jeongin to return, but even then no one made it awkward. Jisung promptly pulled Seungmin into his arms after that, making sure he was feeling alright and placing a damp cloth on his forehead.

All in all, it was an okay sick day.


	6. i wanna relax

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LilithStarlight requested: "Do you think you would be down with writing smth where seungmin is having a Rough Day and just wants to relax but he's struggling to be lil, and channie is already a babie so he does his best to help him out and they're both just Real Cute?"
> 
> 'i'd also love to see just a day of seungmin feeling Extra Stressed from practice or upcoming schedules so his boys help him destress and he eventually is lil (or maybe he is lil first and then the boys realize he's stressed and help him out :O) and he gets to have a relaxing day, if you're down with that ^_^ "
> 
> I sort of combined both requests, hope you like it! Also it's my bday so I'm posting this early!

The wind was refreshing against Seungmin's cheeks, blowing in through the lowered car window. He sighed, gazing at the blur of passing buildings as he waited to get back home. Practice hours had gone up and they were recording songs more frequently. And while Seungmin loved his job, it got tiring sometimes.

For one, he was always trying to improve his vocals when recording, never fully satisfied for the first few takes. Singing would stress him out when his voice failed to cooperate with the mental image he had for the song. In addition, he was thrown into a constant loop of vocal practice, dance practice, recording, photoshoots, filming, anything they had to do for their upcoming comeback, it was all scheduled for this week.

Today, though, they all had it much easier. Just one morning schedule, then they were free for the day. Only today, because the next few days would lead up to their comeback. Seungmin had disappointed himself when he'd missed a step while dancing, even though the others brushed it off and they resumed as normal. He couldn't help but be on edge, the pressure to do well increasing every day. All he wanted was to show his best sides and perform as well as he could.

As soon as he reached the dorms he took a quick shower, changed into more comfortable clothes and collapsed onto Hyunjin's bed. He couldn't be bothered to climb up to the top bunk, but he did pull his stuffed dog off the mattress.

On days like this he regressed easily, usually by watching cartoons while kicking his feet up behind him. But ten minutes later into one of his favourite shows he found he was still big, and still passively stressed.

"You're home! I was wondering how long you'd stay at the studio. You don't need the extra dance practice, you know." Felix walked up to him with a bright smile.

"I just want to stay on top of everything. I returned a while ago." Seungmin heard a rustling noise and lifted his head to see Chan peeking into the room, only half of his face visible in the doorway. In the half hour Seungmin had spent practicing Chan must have regressed, judging from his pout and wide eyes.

"Hey Channie, cub, come here." Felix's grin widened and he patted his knees. Chan toddled towards him, showing Seungmin the bear onesie he was in. His hair was up in a small ponytail, it resembled an apple stem more than anything.

He climbed into Felix's lap, giggling before peering at Seungmin. "Bad day?"

Seungmin shook his head. "Stressful week."

Chan hummed. "Channie too, then found Lix an' Lily." He gasped. "Minnie be li'l too!"

"I'm trying." Seungmin frowned. "I can't seem to relax."

"Bubble bath bubble bath!" Chan chanted, bouncing on Felix's knee.

"When he wants to relax he takes a bath," Felix explained, "But I'm guessing you already washed up."

Seungmin nodded.

"Play wif Channie? Could do dragons," Chan leaned forward to growl at him.

Seungmin giggled. "I don't want to run around, sorry." The littles often pretended to be dragons guarding a castle full of treasure, running around the dorm using the furniture as landmarks. Seungmin didn't have the energy to play make-believe at the moment.

"Yah, who left the wooden blocks on the floor? I almost tripped!" Changbin yelled loudly from some other room.

Felix glanced at Chan.

"Oops." Chan slipped away and ran off to clean up his mess. Felix shook his head, following him.

Seungmin joined him, heading to the living room where Chan was scooping up handfuls of building blocks and dropping them onto the dining table.

"Hey." Jisung came up behind him and ruffled his hair. "Why're you standing in the middle of the room?"

"Uh." Seungmin blinked, his gaze following Felix as he helped Chan fill his plastic bucket and take it back to his bedroom. "I'm trying to regress to relax so I'm following Channie around, I guess."

Jisung grabbed a water bottle, turning to Seungmin before he left. "You could try colouring, you always seem so happy and peaceful when scribbling into a colouring book."

"Really?"

Jisung nodded, heading back to his room.

A few minutes later Seungmin sat down cross-legged in the middle of the living room, with his favourite colouring book and his coloured pencils arranged neatly beside him.

"Channie, you wanted a snack?" Minho came from the kitchen carrying a plate full of chicken nuggets.

"Yes please." Chan ran in, screeching when he laid eyes on the food. "Lee Know Lily Lee Lee Know Lee Lil- made nuggies!"

"No running Channie. You might fall over," Minho reminded him. "They're still hot."

The little took slower steps, moving to hop around Seungmin. "Nuggies, nuggies, nuggies, come Minnie, nuggies." He tugged Seungmin's arm.

"I heard you, Minho hyung made nuggets. I'll eat later."

Chan rushed to the table, sliding into Minho's lap and reaching over to grab a nugget. Minho blocked his moves quickly. "Nuh-uh-uh, they're too hot."

"But wan' them now!" Chan squirmed, trying to wriggle out of Minho's grasp. He succeeded, his hand shooting out to touch the food.

"Owie." He withdrew his hand to suck his fingers.

"I told you they were hot. Here, let me blow on them."

Seungmin busied himself with colouring, trying to stay within the outlines.

"Eat."

Chan nudged Seungmin's lips with a nugget, pouting cutely. "Nuggies yummy!"

"Maybe later?" Seungmin had to admit, Chan was adorable with his cheeks full of food. Yet even the sight of Chan wasn't helping him regress.

"You gotta," Chan whined, squealing when Seungmin let him feed him a few nuggets. Satisfied, he went back to Minho's arms, wiggling happily.

Seungmin chewed slowly. He was done colouring half the picture and still couldn't tap into his headspace. One glance at Chan and Minho had him at the brink of tears. He just wanted to relax for the rest of the day, to recharge for later. But if he was unable to do that he'd be left exhausted until after the comeback. That was weeks later.

He gathered the pencils and book, putting them aside. Jeongin and Hyunjin glanced at him from the sofa. They finished their multiplayer game and set their phones aside to give him their full undivided attention.

"What's wrong?" Hyunjin asked.

Seungmin groaned in frustration. "I'm still..."

"Not little, huh." Jeongin paused, thinking hard. Then his eyes lit up.

"What, what is it?" Seungmin breathed.

Jeongin got down beside him and pulled him into his lap. "Think about something you like or want in headspace. It could be the first thing that comes to mind, anything you have fond memories of maybe. Just one thing."

Seungmin did as he was told, trying to pick something. He decided against his stuffie or blanket, trying to choose something unique he could let his mind wander on about. The thought of his pacifier made the corners of his lips curl upwards.

He was always shy about feeling younger, hesitating to give into his wants unless he was alone with someone he trusted. He used to scroll through countless photos of baby items online, especially pacifiers. They were always cute and seemed comforting. It had taken forever for him to confess he wanted a custom one, that too only after Jeongin brought up the discussion of pacifiers and baby bottles.

"You thinking of something nice and sweet?" Jeongin murmured.

Seungmin nodded, closing his eyes. "My paci."

"Your paci! What a good choice. It makes you feel small, doesn't it?"

He remembered the day Jeongin and Chan presented it to him as if it were yesterday. A locked door, a tiny blue box he still had in his closet, a lot of unexpected happy tears upon seeing the light purple pacifier. He had immediately washed it off and placed it in his mouth, falling into a part of his regression reserved for the nights he spent with Jeongin alone. Every time he used his paci he felt the same way, extremely young and trusting, though the vulnerability scared him at times.

Seungmin felt himself being shifted to sit sideways in Jeongin's lap, in a sort of cradled position. It was then he realized the maknae had been rocking him subtly the entire time. His thumb had gravitated to his mouth, poking in between his lips. He realized how far he was going to slip, right in the middle of the floor where anyone could see him, and suddenly there were butterflies in his stomach.

Jeongin sensed his tension without him needing to speak. "Is it okay if I treat you like you're really little? I think it's working."

Seungmin nodded, giving him the signal to talk him down properly. Jeongin would never do so without his consent, knowing how sensitive he was about being so young. He only ever regressed like that if he was sick, distressed, extremely sleepy or having a bad day.

"Shh, don't be scared baby. It's okay, I'm right here. You're doing so good." Seungmin relaxed in his arms. "Let me get you a bottle and we'll have some private time, okay? Can you stay with Jinnie hyung 'till I get your baba? That okay?"

"Okay," Seungmin echoed, his voice barely above a whisper. He crawled over to Hyunjin to sit with him. Hyunjin was nice, he gave warm hugs and played with him a lot.

"Hey Minnie," Hyunjin purred, hugging him with a hand on the back of his head, guiding him to face his chest. It was Seungmin's favourite position, where he didn't have to worry about anyone else watching him because all he could see was one person.

"I'm back." Jeongin scooped Seungmin up.

"Where you going? Our room? Is Minnie tired? Can't he stay? Wanna play." Chan tugged on Jeongin's sleeve, sticking close to him as he carried Seungmin to his room. Seungmin whined at the noise.

"Shh, Channie, Minnie's feeling very small. You have to be extra careful with him."

"How small's very small?" Chan whispered, tilting his head.

Jeongin pushed the bedroom door open. "I'd say about your age and younger."

Chan squealed. The noise made Seungmin whimper.

"Channie," Jeongin sent him a look, placing Seungmin down to sit against the pillows and drink his milk.

"Sorry. Channie stay?" Chan looked hopeful, glancing at Seungmin from outside the room.

"Only if he lets you." Jeongin knelt down in front of Chan.

"Why wouldn't he? I love him."

Jeongin cooed. "I know. But Minnie's not like you when he's this little. He doesn't like having lots of people around him. He's very shy and quiet. He gets scared easily. Someday he might be more open with this side of him, but not right now. Don't be too sad if he doesn't let you in, okay?" Chan nodded solemnly.

"Minnie, can Channie stay?"

Seungmin froze, gingerly pulling away from his bottle. "Quiet?"

"Channie promise to be quiet."

Then Seungmin nodded, much to the others' delight. "Door, please."

Chan closed the door behind him and tiptoed to sit by Seungmin's feet. Jeongin felt his heart swell with pride. This was progress.

"Dada?"

Jeongin was with him in the blink of an eye. "Yes pup?"

Seungmin clutched at his pant leg with his free hand, squirming uncomfortably. Luckily Jeongin had been through this enough times to know what he wanted.

"Pull-up young, or diaper young, sweetums?"

"Um, uh..." Seungmin stammered, shoving the bottle back in his mouth.

"Too hard, hm? No worries, I'll pick for you. Leave all the big choices to me." Jeongin made sure to stay in Seungmin's line of vision as he grabbed a package.

"Channie help!" Chan whisper-yelled, distracting Seungmin with his stuffie so Jeongin could undress him without any resistance. He put Seungmin in a diaper and taped it up, gently massaging his hips when he whined.

"It's alright, I just want my baby to have some extra protection, feel extra safe. I want you to be as little as you want, okay? I miss my baby." He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when Seungmin nodded, giving him a toothy smile.

"There we go, all nice and baby for the day." Seungmin giggled, babbling gibberish to Chan while reaching for his stuffie. Chan squished his cheeks.

Jeongin found Seungmin's phone. "Hey pup, were you watching cartoons?"

"Cartoons!" Chan exclaimed, snuggling Seungmin as Jeongin propped the phone up in front of them before taking his place on Seungmin's other side.

"Minnie look, bunnies." Chan pointed to the screen.

"Bunny!"

The littles proceeded to have an animated conversation solely in baby talk, none of which Jeongin could understand, but as long as the babies were happy he had no complaints.

"Dada, bunny." _That_ he could understand.

"Yes baby, a very cute bunny. But not as cute as you two." He tapped Seungmin's and Chan's noses.

Soon Seungmin finished his milk, and Jeongin replaced the bottle with his pacifier. Seungmin squeezed his hand in return.

"You're welcome. Anything to make you feel better."

"Bad day now good day for Minnie?" Chan tenderly cupped Seungmin's face, kissing his forehead. Seungmin squealed, kicking his feet in small movements.

"Yes Channie, I think he's finally relaxing." Jeongin told him.

"Yay! Minnie happy!"

The littles were content with leaning on each other and watching cartoons, and Jeongin couldn't be happier to see Seungmin comfortably little.


	7. playgrounds and picnics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smoll_Fefe requested: "Could there maybe be one of all the members being out except Seungmin, Hyunjin and Jeongin so the two of them take baby Minnie out to a quite park or something.."
> 
> Here you go :) fluffy childhood reminiscence for our little Minnie

"Jinnie, Innie, are we there yet?" Seungmin bounced in his seat, gazing out the bus window.

"Not yet."

They had gotten on the bus ten minutes ago, and Seungmin had no idea where they were going. Jeongin wanted it to be a surprise, and Hyunjin tagged along because he was the only other person who was free for the day.

"Jinnie, where are we going?"

"I'm not telling," Hyunjin teased. "I promised Innie not to tell."

"We're not going to meet someone, are we? 'Cause if we are and they don't know..." Seungmin halted his movements, fearful eyes meeting Jeongin's.

"No Minnie, we're not. I'd tell you if we were, I would never put you in an uncomfortable situation on purpose." Jeongin looped his arm around Seungmin to reassure him. "We're going somewhere open to the public, I'll tell you that, but I promise there won't be that many strangers around. It'll be just us, far away from anyone else. If not, then we'll take you to get ice cream."

"I trust you." Seungmin leaned into his touch momentarily before kicking his feet. The bus stopped again. "Are we there now?"

"No, pup, it's a few more stops away."

Hyunjin chuckled. "He's going to ask that every stop, isn't he."

"Well," Jeongin said, lowering his voice to a whisper, "He's never been little outside the dorm, not completely."

Seungmin huffed cutely, crossing his arms. "This better be as good as ice cream."

When they reached their stop Jeongin took Seungmin's hand and guided him off the bus, Hyunjin trailing behind with a backpack full of things they would need later.

"Okay pup, close your eyes now, we're going to turn the corner." Seungmin nodded, covering his eyes and letting Jeongin lead him.

"I.N-ah, did you get us lost?" Hyunjin joked. Seungmin felt Jeongin tug him abruptly as he stumbled, assuming Hyunjin just nudged him.

"Lost? Does that mean no ice cream?" Seungmin pouted.

"It should be here... oh, it's the next corner." Jeongin pulled Seungmin further down the block, putting his hands on the little's shoulders once they were at their destination.

"Innie, you're silly."

"Yeah, I am. You can open your eyes now."

Seungmin dropped his hand and squinted, trying to adjust to the bright sunlight. Then his jaw dropped.

"A park! We're at a park!" The grassy field stretched far into the distance, with barely any people in sight. What caught Seungmin's attention was the small playground off to the side, with twisty slides, monkey bars and even a swing set. He gasped, turning back to his friends.

"Surprise!" Hyunjin exclaimed, dropping the backpack onto the ground.

Jeongin took Seungmin's hands in his. "You've been such a good boy lately-"

"When is he not?" Hyunjin chimed in, running away laughing to avoid being hit by Jeongin.

"As I was saying," Jeongin muttered, "I, or rather we, wanted to reward you for being good, so here we are. I made sure we came on a day that isn't busy so you can be yourself."

"But, but I didn't do anything special," Seungmin objected.

"Why Seungminnie, you're the best little boy we could ever have. You're always so well behaved and nice to everyone. I want to spoil you for once. You're very special to me and to all of us. I think you deserve a fun day at the park after all the hard work you've done these past few weeks. We're having a picnic later as well."

"A picnic?" Seungmin was ecstatic.

"Now come on, why don't you explore the playground?" Jeongin unzipped the bag, taking out a few items and setting them on the grass.

Seungmin glanced towards the swings, then back at the others with sparkling eyes. "Thank you Innie, thanks Jinnie, you guys are the bestest."

Hyunjin was the first to be hugged. "You're welcome- hey, what happened?" Seungmin sniffled, pulling away to hug Jeongin.

"Aw, are those happy tears?" Seungmin nodded, letting Jeongin wipe them away with his thumbs. "Alright, I love you too. Now go on, there's no one on the swings yet."

"Jinnie, come push me on the swings, Innie can set up the picnic!" Seungmin shrieked, grabbing Hyunjin's hand and running to the playground.

Jeongin watched them with a fond look, spreading out a blanket on the grass to sit down. He watched Seungmin climb into a swing and try swinging by himself before getting Hyunjin to push him.

"Innie!" Seungmin yelled, "Come play with us!"

Their things would be in view, so Jeongin wasn't worried about getting their spot stolen as he went over to them, but not before grabbing Hyunjin's video camera with its selfie stick.

"Look how high I can go!" Seungmin beamed, kicking his legs to keep swinging. Jeongin loved seeing that genuine smile.

"You're flying, pup."

Seungmin let himself slow down. He dragged his feet to stop the swing, then hopped off.

"Wanna race us to the slides?" Jeongin pinched his cheek.

"Yeah, let's race."

They counted backwards from three and rushed over to the slides, Hyunjin being the first to climb the stairs.

Seungmin cheered. "Jinnie wins!"

Hyunjin smiled, lowering himself to sit at the top of the slide. "Hey Minnie, you want to join me? Or should we slide one by one?"

"Hm. Both? I wanna play a lot." Seungmin positioned himself to hug Hyunjin from the back. They went down together first with a collective shriek, with Jeongin filming and sliding down not far behind. Then the three of them went together with Seungmin in front. After that they scattered, Seungmin going solo on the slides while the other two watched from the side.

"Jinnie, can you video me an' Innie on the other swirly slide?" Seungmin bounced in place slightly, looking up into I.N's eyes. "Want this to be special."

Hyunjin cooed. "Of course, anything for you." He took the camera from Jeongin and shuffled back, finding a good angle where the sun wouldn't glare against the lens. Seungmin grabbed Jeongin's hand and they disappeared behind the jungle gym to climb the stairs.

Hyunjin made sure to press record before shouting. "Whenever you're ready!"

Seungmin was giggling madly, sitting between Jeongin's legs at the top. The younger had his arms wrapped around him and kissed the side of his head.

"Ready?"

Seungmin nodded.

"Three, two, one, we're the kings of the castle!" They chanted in unison, gleefully squealing all the way down.

"That was so much fun." Seungmin hugged Jeongin, before trotting over to Hyunjin, who seemed to be fighting off a bug.

"Hey Innie, look, it's a dragonfly." Seungmin pointed towards the insect as it flew away. "Bugs are gross, but that one has pretty wings."

He spread his arms out and chased Hyunjin around the playground, pretending to be a dragonfly. A while later he stopped in his tracks and gasped, bending down to scrutinize a plant. "Guys guys look at this!"

He fiddled with a leaf he found and ran up to Hyunjin, then Jeongin. "It's a ladybug, pup."

Seungmin nodded. "So pretty. I'm getting hungry, can we do the picnic now?"

"Let's eat." The three of them sat down on their blanket. Seungmin gently placed the leaf down beside him, still admiring the ladybug as Jeongin handed out wet wipes and hand sanitizer so they could clean their hands.

"What are we eating? Is it good? Is it one of my favourites? Are we all having the same thing- sandwiches!" Seungmin reached for one of the triangles, unfolding the plastic.

"I figured we could eat them in the wrappers to be clean." Hyunjin grabbed another sandwich, taking a huge bite out of it.

"They're yummy," Seungmin mumbled. "Hey ladybug, want a bite?"

The leaf was empty. "Innie, my ladybug's gone."

"That's what bugs do, Minnie, they fly away."

"Bye-bye ladybug." Seungmin stretched his legs out, flicking the leaf away before looking up. "Do you guys see shapes in the clouds too?"

"That one looks like a sleeping cat." Jeongin pointed up with his sandwich.

"The round lumpy bit beside the huge cloud? It looks like a turtle to me."

"Whaaaat?" Seungmin exaggerated, "It looks like something round and curled up. Kinda like a doggy! That tiny bit could be the tail, see?"

They cloud gazed throughout their meal, bursting out laughing when one of them thought of ridiculous silhouettes.

"Wait, I have a really funny one, but finish drinking your juice first." Seungmin turned to Hyunjin after setting his sippy cup down.

"Okay."

"That fluffy cloud looks like an elephant wearing a party hat that's throwing a stick in the air with its trunk."

Seungmin laughed so hard he fell to his side, while Jeongin chuckled, squinting at the sky. "I can kind of see it, if the party hat is flat."

"You guys are so ridiculous." Seungmin crumpled up his trash and stuffed it in a backpack pocket.

"Ridonculous." Hyunjin nosed his cheek.

"Absolutely ridonculous," Jeongin joined in. He made sure no one else was near them before kissing Seungmin's forehead. "I think it's time we left."

"Just five more minutes? Pretty please?"

Jeongin sighed and waved him off. "Alright Minnie, five minutes."

Seungmin played on the slides until Jeongin and Hyunjin called for him. They didn't want to miss the bus.

"You wanna stop for ice cream, Minnie?" Seungmin shook his head, leaning on Hyunjin's shoulder as soon as they took their seats.

"Later." Soon Seungmin was fast asleep on him. Jeongin quietly retrieved Hyunjin's camera and started recording.

"It's nap time, little one," Hyunjin murmured, knowing the regressor couldn't hear him. He shifted so Seungmin would be more comfortable. "We'll wake you when we're there."


	8. to care for a caregiver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anonymous requested: "can i request jeongin being sad/upset and little seungmin trying to comfort him as best he can? thank you so much!"
> 
> Ahh, something I want to learn more about - being there for a caregiver! I did my best with this one, comments are much appreciated! :D

It was quiet in the dorm when Jeongin returned, unlocking the door and slipping in as silently as possible. He wanted to lock himself alone somewhere, any room, even the bathroom if need be. He needed a minute to think.

"Back so soon? How did it go- oh no. I know that look." Chan greeted him in the hallway, pausing when the younger's downcast eyes clashed with his forced smile.

"I don't want to talk about it right now."

Jeongin said politely and went to his shared bedroom, sighing at the sight of Han hunched over on his bed, watching what seemed to be a nature documentary.

"Hey Innie- Innie?" Han did a double take, noting his slumped shoulders and faltering smile.

"Can you, um, go somewhere else for a bit hyung?" Han nodded, scrambling to his feet.

"Should I wake Seungmin too?"

It was then Jeongin noticed Seungmin, curled up and partly covered in Jeongin's blanket, with his thumb in his mouth and one of Jeongin's shirts pressed against his face.

"Let him rest." Han nodded, placing a hand on Jeongin's shoulder as he passed him. The door closed behind him, then he was left with the sound of Seungmin's slow, deep breaths.

Jeongin couldn't make himself move towards his little, card his hair or pet him softly like he would on any other day. All he could process was the events from earlier. His back hit the wall furthest from his bed and he slunk down, hugging his knees.

He underestimated how lightly Seungmin slept, feeling a tap on his arm and something being poked against his side. He lifted his head.

"Here." Seungmin nudged him with a tissue box, then set it aside when he realized Jeongin wasn't crying.

"Did I wake you? Go back to sleep, don't worry about me." His voice shook in the slightest. Oh no.

Seungmin shook his head, handing Jeongin a tissue when his eyes reddened. "Won't look."

He pointed his gaze at the floor while Jeongin sniffled, thinking about what he could do. How could he help someone he often went to for comfort?

He noticed Jeongin hadn't even taken his hat off, so he did that for him, replacing the baseball cap with his hand. Slowly, he patted his head in a steady rhythm.

"What happened Innie?" He asked with a tinge of sadness, not expecting a reply. "You went to meet an old friend after so long, I wonder what went wrong."

"We're not friends anymore," Jeongin whispered.

Seungmin rubbed the maknae's arm. "Oh no. Can I tell you 'bout my day? It's a happy story, so you might feel better."

Jeongin nodded, listening to him ramble on about what he did while Jeongin was gone. How he watched cartoons and played with the others, what he ate for lunch, up to the most trivial details. Jeongin felt warmer inside because of it. Seungmin was taking his mind off of what he was upset about, expecting no closure in return.

"Sounds like you had lots of fun, pup. Bet you didn't miss me." He meant to tease Seungmin, but some dejected honesty laced his words.

Seungmin gasped. "Did too! I missed you lots and lots. What were the good parts of your day?"

Jeongin crumpled up the used tissues in his hands, tilting his head back. "The good parts, huh. Some of my favourite songs played on my way to our meeting place, it made me feel good when I was walking. I wanted to dance, but then I'd look silly in the middle of everyone."

Seungmin laughed softly.

"What else... I had a really yummy drink, it was like a fruit punch with lots of juices mixed together. I think you'll like it, I'll take you there someday. Uh, the sky was pretty, I took a few pictures before the bus came, I'll show you later." He paused, pressing his lips into a thin line. Then he turned his head to face Seungmin. "You want to hear the bad parts too, don't you."

"No, that's okay. Can I hug you, though?" Jeongin looked at him with a quizzical expression. "It's 'cause you get ticklish and don't like skinship too much."

"That's very sweet of you to ask me. Of course you can hug me." Jeongin extended an arm, letting Seungmin cling to him.

"You know I love you a lot right? I love you this much." Seungmin spread his arms out. "Wait, I love you more than that. I love you un-uncond-uhhh, to the moon and back."

He nodded, affirming his statement as he went back to hugging Jeongin. "I love you, we love you, and if some people don't love you it's because they're meanies and don't mix with nice people. You should be with nice people."

Jeongin placed his chin on top of Seungmin's head. "I should be with nice people, you're absolutely right. The friend, well ex-friend, he's a meanie."

"I hate meanies," Seungmin said.

"He said a lot of not nice things about me and tried to make fun of me, then when I got mad he said he was joking. If it was a joke it wasn't a very funny one. He's been sort of like this before, back in school, but I didn't know he got worse. So... I told him I was done and cut him off."

Silence lingered in the air after he spoke. Seungmin tightened his grip and Jeongin put both his arms around him, settling into a comfortable position. They sat like that for a while.

"Hey Innie, this is like when I wanna do nothing but cuddle you to feel good again." Jeongin exhaled as if to let out a small laugh. He kissed the top of Seungmin's head.

"Yeah. I know you're not that little right now, but can you call me dada? I... it makes me feel important, like I'm wanted."

Seungmin rubbed his cheek on Jeongin's shirt. "Dada," he smiled, "You're my dada, forever and always. I can say it forever. Dada, dada, dada, I really love you. You mean so much to me."

The words were genuine, Jeongin knew. He could feel them in Seungmin's touch, see them in his earthy eyes full of concern and the want to make things okay.

"Thank you sweetheart. I love you to the moon and back too."

Seungmin hummed. "Will you be okay?" He asked.

"I already am. You made me feel okay again."


	9. never felt fuzzy before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hwiyounicorn requested : "I have a request! So, Seungmin is just laying on his bed using his phone when he comes across a video showing cute puppies. It's not like he had been feeling on the verge of slipping before that, but now he certainly was. Hyunjin, who was on his own bed, notices his behavior and offers to take care of him in little space. It was all good at first, Hyunjin wasn't his full-time caregiver but he was doing a great job, until he started feeling something weird. It didn't take too long for him to realize he was feeling little as well. As this had never happened before, he was completely lost and unsure of what to do. How would he be able to keep taking care of Seungmin if he was also feeling that way? Fortunately, one of the other members (could be anyone tbh) saw the two boys and sensed that something was wrong. Hyunjin explains and this member reassures him that he could regress as well, and that they would take care of both littles. Maybe they also need to talk him down (since it was his first time regressing, after all)
> 
> If possible, I'd love if you could make Hyunjin younger than 4 bcs I love seeing him on the younger side of the spectrum"
> 
> Thank you for the detailed request! I absolutely loved writing it out, and I hope you enjoy it! Sorry it's late, life gets in the way sometimes .-. I had my results day yesterday (the 13th) and it went very well!
> 
> I watched puppy vids (https://youtu.be/B1CPE6WWsAQ and https://youtu.be/mRf3-JkwqfU) for motivation :D

It's always good to take a break, Seungmin thought, curling up in bed without a care in the world. He was free for the day, aimlessly going through videos that were in his recommendations to pass time.

One particular video caught his eye and he tapped on it, smiling at the sight of puppies playing.

"Aw the puppy rolled over." He mimicked the motions and sounds he saw and heard. The more he watched, the more he settled into the peaceful, childish part of his mind, accidentally knocking his stuffed dog off the bed when he moved.

"Arf! Arf arf- oh noooo, I dropped my pup." He pressed pause, glancing down at the floor where his precious stuffie lay. "It's all the way down there."

He didn't want to climb down the ladder to retrieve it, pouting as he hovered over the railing for a few more moments.

"Seungminnie? You dropped this."

Thank goodness for Hyunjin in the lower bunk. He handed Seungmin his toy with a bright smile that widened when the younger waved his hands and took it from him.

"Thanks."

"You feeling little, Minnie? You can sit with me if you want," Hyunjin offered, laughing as Seungmin scrambled down the ladder, the bed creaking as he leaned against Hyunjin's side. "I'll take that as a yes, cutiepie."

Seungmin let out a shy giggle, nodding behind his stuffie. "Was looking at puppies."

"Oh?"

Hyunjin wasn't Seungmin's main caregiver, that title went to Jeongin and Jeongin only, but he was used to watching the little. Seungmin was independent in headspace, not needing much supervision or help with basic tasks, so it wasn't too hard. All Hyunjin had to do was keep an eye on him.

"Seungmin don't run in your socks like that you'll fall!"

Seungmin was also energetic in headspace on good days.

Hyunjin caught up to him and kept him from sliding into the edge of the counter from inertia. "Kids." He shook his head.

He filled a sippy cup with juice for Seungmin, made him stop jumping on the couch because heaven forbid him getting hurt before Jeongin's home from school and work, and sat him back down in their room to continue watching videos of baby animals.

Seungmin wrapped himself around Hyunjin's arm. His legs dangled off the edge of the bed, not quite touching the floor. He swung them back and forth and bounced in his seat in excitement. Typical little behaviour.

So why did Hyunjin want to copy him?

Seungmin squealed at one clip of puppies playing, a few kids' toys nearby. Hyunjin found himself staring, suddenly wanting to reach through the screen and play with them. The primary colours seemed alluring for a reason unclear to him. He put his arm around Seungmin to cuddle him, pushing the thought aside. Maybe he was just getting caught up in the cuteness.

The video ended and Hyunjin thought that was the end of that. Until Seungmin pulled up pictures of baby items and regressor gear and began scrolling through them.

"They're fun to look at," he explained, completely unaware that Hyunjin was focused on the baby blankets and pacifiers, wanting to nuzzle anything soft that popped on-screen.

"Hey Minnie, does looking at small things make you feel all... tingly inside? Like really really happy?"

"Yeah." Seungmin confirmed. "That's kinda exactly how I feel when I'm feeling little, so looking at them makes me stay little."

Oh. Well then.

"I feel like that right now." He had never felt this sensation before, to want to be childish past the point of acting cute for fun. It was weird, but nice.

Seungmin gasped. "Then we can be little together! What's mine is yours, if you want anything. Isn't this onesie pretty?"

He held the screen so close to Hyunjin's face that it touched his nose, making him laugh. "Yeah. It's adorable."

There was one problem with feeling fuzzy in the head. He couldn't trust himself to watch Seungmin in this state. If Seungmin wanted to climb up to a shelf to grab something instead of stepping onto a chair, Hyunjin would be less inclined to stop him, possibly even joining in on the adventure himself.

Then, as if some higher power in the universe knew of Hyunjin's internal conflict, two members came in to see what was going on.

He let out a relieved sigh and scooted over to make room for Felix and Changbin, who entered hand in hand.

"Oh? Is that a little baby I see?" Felix instantly recognized that Seungmin was in headspace and eagerly went behind the little to hug him.

"I'm a big boy," Seungmin told him, placing his hands on Felix's while still gripping his sippy cup.

Changbin took a seat beside Hyunjin, glancing at the others. The dancer was zoned out looking at Seungmin's phone, his lips curving upwards in the slightest.

"You alright Hyunjin? You look like you're," he tapped on the side of his head, "Stuck in here."

"I think I'm feeling little. I don't know how, but Seungmin keeps finding these pictures of baby things and kids' things and I keep drifting into... some sort of longing for them? I don't think I can watch him when I feel so- so floaty." Hyunjin shrugged.

"We can watch him, and you."

"Hyung, you say 'we' as if you don't have a schedule to leave for in ten minutes. I can watch you guys."

"Right."

Changbin gestured with his eyes for Felix and him to switch places, whispering, "You're better with making people feel comfortable." He moved to Seungmin while the younger joined Hyunjin.

"Hey Minnie, what are you looking at? Do you want more juice? No? Come, you can help hyung wash out your sippy then." Seungmin followed him out of the room, leaving the two dancers to talk.

"He's good," Felix commented, waiting for Hyunjin to talk to him. Hyunjin giggled at his own awkwardness, unable to fill the silence with his own words. He had to try, though, because Felix wasn't a mind reader.

"Seungmin said I can use anything he has," he began, "But I'm not sure I can be little, I've never done it before."

Felix nodded. "I can talk you down, if you want that." All of the members had experience with easing Seungmin into headspace, so it wasn't a foreign concept to him.

Hyunjin squirmed under his fond gaze. "That would be nice." Before he could shy away his hands were taken into Felix's small palms, the freckled boy rubbing them in circles.

"Relax, Jinnie. It's okay to explore this part of yourself. Did you eat?"

"Yeah, I had lunch."

"Was it yummy?" Felix reached for Seungmin's starry blanket and placed it between himself and Hyunjin.

"It was too spicy, and I had to pick some veggies out."

"Ah, I know you don't like certain yucky veggies. Tell you what, I'll make you something yummy later when I have time."

"Brownies? Pretty pretty please?" Hyunjin was feeling much fuzzier, hesitating to reach out to touch Seungmin's blanket. Every move he made he overanalyzed. Was this okay, was this normal, was he dropping or just feeling cute, but Felix only had to give him another reassuring smile for him to relax and dismiss those thoughts. Felix's smile had a way of melting everyone's worries away.

"Of course, Jinnie! I'll make lots of brownies for my bestest boys, hm?" He ruffled Hyunjin's hair. Hyunjin lifted the blanket to his face with a wide grin, rubbing his cheek against the fabric cutely. Then he wrapped himself in it and covered his face until only his crescent eyes were visible.

Felix cooed. "Oh no, where'd our Jinnie go? I think I've lost him." He made a show of looking around the room. "Lump of blankets, can you tell me where Hyunjin went?"

Hyunjin giggled, making grabby hands for him. "M' hewe! Hyunie hewe!"

"Oh there you are! Sweet little lamb, you look so tiny like that, I almost forgot you were in there." Felix tickled his thigh, grinning as he laughed. He was finally in headspace, unashamed and happy.

"Can you tell me how little you're feeling?"

Hyunjin shrugged. "Tiny... baby?"

Felix squealed, kissing his forehead. "Good job, using your words for me."

He was cuddling the little when Seungmin returned alone, hopping into the room.

"Binnie hyung told me to tell you that he said bye." He moved his finger as if to draw an infinity sign, following it with his head in small motions to exaggerate his words. "Is Jinnie li'l?"

At the mention of his name Hyunjin buried himself under the covers with an audible whine.

"Come on Hyunie, it's just Minnie. He's just like you, only a bit older today. Come on, it's okay. He won't bite." Felix rubbed his back, pulling back the cloth enough so his face peeked out.

"I got teeth but I don't bite." Seungmin agreed, lowering himself on the bed to meet Hyunjin's eyes.

Hyunjin reached out to touch his face, smacking it gently as a toddler would. "Hi."

Seungmin didn't seem to mind, joining him under the blanket. "Hello baby."

Hyunjin made a happy noise. "Wike youw bwankie."

"Me too, it's my blankie from Innie."

Seungmin resumed his hunt for more childish items, showing Hyunjin every picture he found. The latter gnawed at his nails at one point before sucking his thumb, stealing a glance at the others to see if they had noticed. When he saw no weird reactions he leaned on Seungmin's shoulder and closed his eyes.

"He's super cute Lixie do you see this?" Seungmin whisper-yelled, pointing to the little slumped on his side. He seemed to be asleep.

"Super duper cute, Minnie. I think we'll need to buy another pacifier."


	10. wrong place, wrong time, right people

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SkzOT9stan requested: "Could you maybe do one where Seungmin slips into little space backstage at one of their concerts, but another group finds him (preferably a group outside JYP or the others of the big three)? And Innie is a mess trying to figure out where his baby went?"
> 
> Thank you for this request! I went with Oneus, one of my ult groups, and although it's a rarepair situation I've always wondered how they would interact with Stray Kids. I tweaked the request just a bit to make it backstage on a music show (a Skz concert nonetheless, since they perform) so it'd be easier to fit Oneus in backstage. I hope you like it! I made it short and sweet :)

Applause, cheers, the music being cut off, all of these were loud sounds that the members' in-ears blocked out for them to be able to hear the music clearly. Stray Kids had just finished a stage, ready to head backstage once the camera stopped recording them live. But even without the in-ears, Seungmin would have tuned out all the other sounds, only able to focus on his own deep breaths.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

He swallowed dryly, nervously, thankful that they were leaving the dreaded raised platform. Whoever was in charge of setting up the music show stage did a terrible job in terms of safety. The floor was slippery, the lights were too bright, which were red flags that had everyone on edge to stay safe and steady on their feet while going all out in terms of performance.

But what really scared Seungmin near the end when he was at the side of the stage, was the effects. The sparkles and flames leapt up right in front of him, mere inches away from his face. Curse whoever placed them so close to the already small stage. He masked his fear and gritted his teeth until the end, relieved that he wasn't hurt.

And when Seungmin was scared, he had to deal with the aftermath once the adrenaline wore off. Which was his age regression.

The second he turned into the hallway Seungmin took a shaky breath, feeling himself slip. The only thing on his mind was to get as far away from there as possible. He had the world tuned out, ignoring the staff, members, everyone around him, only meeting eyes with Jeongin as he pushed past everyone.

He didn't know where his feet were taking him, ending up halfway down a random hall where no cameras or strangers were visible. He felt safer, then, enough to shuffle near a wall and try to calm himself down.

"Oh man that was so scary." Jeongin told the others. He felt himself being pushed back, then someone squeezed past him. "Seungmin hyung what are- Minnie?"

Jeongin helplessly watched as the older disappeared with wide, glassy eyes.

"Oh no he- guys he's little what do we, what do I- I'm going after him."

Chan nodded, giving him permission to go alone. He trusted him. "He can't have gone far. I wanted to run away too with how high the flames jumped at that one part."

Jeongin took off, peering into every hallway and passing every room as he searched for his baby, growing restless every second. Seungmin was somewhere, alone and little and frightened and Jeongin wanted to make it okay again. Unfortunately the backstage building setup was more of a maze than he thought. Still, he kept going.

Oneus was in their dressing room, alone, waiting for their cue to go on stage. They were preparing to leave early, leaving their room together when a figure down the hall caught Keonhee's eye.

"Guys shut up, it's Seungmin sunbaenim from Stray Kids." Keonhee moved his head to gesture to the boy leaning against the wall.

Seungmin hadn't noticed them yet, he was too focused on bringing himself back to big space before he did something that could be caught on camera.

"What do we do? Should we approach him? He looks distressed, where are the other group members?" While Seoho was busy wondering aloud, Xion had slithered back into their dressing room to retrieve something. He slipped past his other members and took a hesitant step towards Seungmin. He wasn't too far away.

"Dongju, what are you doing?" Leedo hissed.

"Lookie hyungs, he's little, jus' like me." He had a tendency to speak in a childish manner, or 'little talk' as he put it, more often than he actually regressed.

"Don't make assumptions Ju, I doubt it's that com..." Ravn trailed off, noticing how Seungmin brushed his thumb against his lip and slunk to the floor. The behaviour was similar to how Dongju acted when he was slipping. "Oh, you might be right."

"Woongie-hyung, you'll come with me, right?" Hwanwoong was also enthusiastic about kids' items, though he wasn't a regressor himself, which was why Xion went to him easily when feeling small.

Xion slowly made his way over to Seungmin, stopping a short distance away from him. "Hello Seungmin sunbaenim, I'm Xion, or Dongju, the maknae of Oneus." He bowed. Seungmin scrambled to his feet to bow as well.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. I think I saw you guys on a show once, I liked your performance." Little Seungmin knew his manners well, though his voice came out much quieter than he wanted it to be. "I'm sorry, am I in the way?"

"No! No, no-no, I um," Xion sighed, unfolding his arms from his chest to reveal the blue bundle he was holding. "You look scared, so I was wondering if you wanna hold my blankie?"

Seungmin blinked at him, flitting between his wide smile and the blanket in his hands.

Hwanwoong placed a hand on Dongju's shoulder, facing Seungmin with a gentle smile. "It's okay, don't be shy. Dongju here is a regressor. He thinks you are too."

Seungmin nodded, still hesitating to reach for the blanket. It looked soft. "It was scary and I slipped so I ran away before the cameras came."

"I see. Go on, you can borrow the blanket. Ju carries it everywhere and he never lets anyone take it from him, so this is quite special." Hwanwoong felt a tug at his heartstrings as Seungmin accepted Dongju's offering, melting into the softness of the fabric. He smiled shyly.

"Thank you, Ju. I can call you Ju, right? Or do I say Dongju-ssi?"

"You can call me Ju, we can be friends! May I call you Minnie?" Dongju pulled Seungmin into their dressing room after he nodded. "You and I are the same age, but everyone else is my hyung so they're your hyungs too. You can stay here where no one else can see us."

"Thank you." Seungmin curled up beside him on a sofa. "It's scary out there, the floor's slippery and the fire is too close."

Hwanwoong sat on the other end on the sofa, giving them some space, while the rest of the members watched in awe as Seungmin and Dongju had a serious discussion about how the stage setup could have been safer.

"We should be careful, right hyungs? We go up soon. Ah, do you know who's who?" Dongju eagerly chattered, pointing out the members he named one by one. He then moved on to asking what Seungmin liked and disliked, clutching part of his blanket and sharing the other half with Seungmin.

Seoho went up to Seungmin in a friendly manner. "Hey Seungmin-ssi, isn't anyone looking for you? I bet your members are worried."

His question was answered when he heard a quiet but urgent "Seungminnie, are you here?" accompanied by frantic footsteps.

Seungmin ran to the door. "Innie!" He hugged Jeongin, the younger pulling away to greet the others.

"Oh, hello." He bowed politely, the others reciprocating the motion. "I was looking all over for you, Seungmin... hyung, everyone's worried sick."

He leaned close to Seungmin, whispering. "I was so worried baby, I was about to cry because we lost you after we were done, and I saw your eyes, I knew you'd gone little right then and there."

"Innie it's okay, they know I'm li'l 'cuz they have one too." Seungmin turned to bow to the others. "Thank you so much for watching me."

"Thank you." Jeongin bowed again. "I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

"Oh not at all, sunbae." Keonhee waved his hands to play it off. "We're honoured."

"I.N-ssi," Dongju left his blanket and went up to him. "If it's not too much to ask, I want to meet you guys again, properly."

Seungmin gasped. "Like a playdate? Can we?"

"It's not easy to find any littles," Ravn started, "But I know this is very abrupt, so you can talk it over with your members first."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thank you again," Jeongin paused.

"I'm Ravn."

"Ravn-ssi. I'm sure Chan hyung would love for a playdate to happen. We should get going, you're on stage in five and we need to get back." They bid their farewells and Jeongin took Seungmin's hand.

"Bye Dongju, bye hyungs." Seungmin waved as they parted ways.

"Now Minnie, never run off like that ever again. You nearly gave me a heart attack, I was worried you'd get lost or hurt." They joined their members and Jeongin filled them in on what happened.

"It was scary up there. I wanted to get away." Seungmin pouted. Jeongin laced their fingers together.

"You're safe with me now. Tell you what, when we're done here we'll find Oneus and arrange a meeting, okay? That way you can meet your friend again."

"Okay!"

Jeongin gave him a fond look of relief. "I'm glad you're alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie I wanna write a sequel to this chapter, but only if anyone's interested. It'd be much longer than this one :3


	11. home alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LilithStarlight requested: "would u be down to write a day kinda like... hhu smth like seungmin is already little and chan agrees to watch him while the others are out but chan is p tired and seungmin is really cute so he regresses too? and chan is p upset about it but seungmin Knows What To Do and calls the others to let them know and they just have a cute little day together after that? also the boys would be proud of them for being responsible for calling them and they'd probably get lots of cuddles hehe"
> 
> Big uwu and here you go :) I wrote this instead of working on Bubble Baths because I'm still figuring out how to go about the next chapter (writer's block isn't fun :/ sigh) so thanks for the request!

"Bye Minnie, don't miss me too much." Jeongin patted Seungmin's head and headed out the door. He was the last of the members to leave for the day, but he had no worries about Seungmin being alone with Chan in the dorm.

He was in an older headspace, which meant he needed less supervision. It helped that he was mostly independent when regressed, only needing more help with basic tasks when in babyspace.

"Channie hyung, Channie hyung, can we play hide and seek? Please?"

Chan smiled. "Okay, I'll count to thirty and you hide."

Seungmin scampered off to find a hiding spot as Chan covered his eyes and counted.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Seungmin loved playing with the others. It was always much better to have company than to play alone, and with the recent discoveries in the dorm (namely Chan and Hyunjin becoming littles themselves) he was having the time of his life. Of course, he enjoyed their company whether they were regressed or not.

He hid behind a bedroom door, giggling quietly as he pressed his back to the wall. Chan's footsteps neared him after a while and the door creaked open. He put his hands out to prevent the wood from smacking into him and bit his lip, watching Chan check around and under the beds.

"Our Seungminnie is such a great hider, I don't know where he's hiding," Chan said, pausing at the door. He peeked behind it and broke into a wide grin.

"Gotcha!"

Seungmin squealed, hopping in excitement. "You found me! Kay, your turn."

"My turn?"

Seungmin pushed him out the door and began counting loudly. "One, two, three-"

Chan sighed, walking around to find a place to hide. It wasn't that he didn't want to play, he just didn't want to get carried away. He had had a rough night (or rather, a rough couple of nights - he and sleep had a love-hate relationship), leaving him drowsy for the morning. At least he was able to get some work done, but for some reason he felt more drained than usual.

And the increased fogginess in his head was too similar to how he felt in headspace. Which could be a problem since he was supposed to watch Seungmin.

He yawned, laying eyes on the bundle of cushions and Seungmin's blanket on one of their sofas. Perfect. He could just about curl up under the mess, with no indication that a person was underneath it.

"Channie hyung, I'm gonna find you!"

Chan settled in the crook between the armrest and the seats, content with being surrounded by cushions. It was like a comfortable nest.

Eventually Seungmin yanked his starry blanket away. "Found you!"

He happily bounced around Chan and hugged him, tipping him over the edge of regression.

"Don't wanna get up." Chan leaned back into the sofa.

"But it's my turn, and I wanna hide."

"Nuuu, dun wanna," he whined, immediately clamping a hand to his mouth.

"Channie?"

He started tearing up. Seungmin tilted his head. "You're little too."

Small whimpers left Chan's lips as he sniffed, pulling the other's blanket over himself completely. "Can't."

"Why not? Do you need some help staying little?" Seungmin heard him hum in disagreement.

"Not s'posed to."

The younger frowned when Chan started crying. "It's okay Channie. I can take care of us."

He rubbed Chan's back, or at least, the part of the blanket there. He hoped his touch was reassuring enough, he couldn't exactly hold Chan like this.

"Idea," Seungmin whispered, kissing somewhere he assumed to be Chan's head. "I'm gonna get you something to feel better, okay? I'll be right back."

He didn't leave until he heard a quiet "okay". Moving quickly, he headed to his room and stopped short at the door.

"Wait a sec, I should tell someone."

He grabbed his phone and dialed the first member that came to mind.

 _"Seungminnie! Did you miss me that much that you had to call me?"_ Minho teased as soon as he picked up. Seungmin took a breath and explained their situation as quickly as he could.

_"So where are you now?"_

"In my room." Seungmin headed towards his bunk bed.

_"You left him alone?"_

"I didn't leave him alone, I'm just getting him my pup. What kind of brother do you think I am?" He shook his head.

Minho let out a breath of relief. _"Why did you call me first instead of someone else?"_

"Uh, 'cause you're his main caregiver? Duh." Seungmin pressed the phone between his cheek and shoulder to free his hands so he could climb up and grab his stuffed dog, giving it a tight squeeze before heading back to where Chan was.

 _"Hey, don't get sassy on me mister."_ Minho sounded playful despite his partially stern tone. _"You can't say that when he hasn't told me that himself. My bet's on Felix anyway."_

"But he gave you an extra special name and always wants you when he's little. Here you go Channie. My pup makes me happy so he'll make you happy too." Seungmin carefully slipped under his blanket, handed Chan the toy and put an arm around him as he sat down, taking the phone in his other hand.

_"I hear sniffles. Seungmin?"_

Seungmin hummed. "He's sad 'cause he wasn't supposed to be little, but it's okay, I can watch him 'till someone comes home. Channie, wanna talk to Lee Know hyung?"

He held out the phone, putting it on speaker. Chan shook his head, burrowing further into the cushions. "Lily mad. Channie small, so Lily mad."

They heard an audible sigh from the other end of the line, as well as multiple voices in the background. _"I promise I'm not mad, Channie. I love you so much. I'm proud of you for slipping on your own, and I'm proud of you, Minnie, for letting us know. You two be good until someone gets back, okay?"_

"Wan' you." Chan firmly gripped the stuffie to his chest.

"See, I _told_ you he wants you and not just anyone. Okay, bye hyung." Seungmin placed the phone aside and cuddled Chan.

"It's too quiet with everyone gone," Seungmin mentioned once Chan had calmed down in his arms. "Let's watch something!"

An hour later Lee Know burst into the dorm, breathless and with worry creased all over his forehead. The only things out of place were a box of crayons and some sheets of paper covered in doodles on the floor by the sofa.

"Channie? Minnie? Where are you? I came as fast as I could." He unceremoniously dumped his bag to one side, washed his hands and checked all the rooms, smiling when he found the littles chasing each other in circles in their room.

"I'm gonna wrap you up like a burrito!" Seungmin ran after Chan with his blanket, the older running away. He bumped into Minho when the dancer stepped in.

"Sowwy Lily," Chan apologized, squealing as Minho lifted him up and balanced him on his hip.

"It's okay Channie. Sorry I couldn't come sooner babies, this hyung got stuck in a ton of traffic."

"I'm not a baby." Seungmin stuck his tongue out, melting as Minho ruffled his hair.

"You're tiny, so you're my baby."

"But 'm your baby." Chan pouted. "Minnie Innie's baby, and 'm yours."

If Minho could wipe the stupidly wide grin on Seungmin's face he would, but all he could do was give Chan an extremely soft look, trying to convey all the love he could muster up through his eyes alone. "Is that so? That makes me so happy."

He blew a raspberry on Chan's cheek, making him giggle and press his face to his caregiver's chest. His caregiver. The thought gave both of them warm flutters.

"My baby Channie, Lily's little one." He gazed at Chan fondly for a while, then turned to Seungmin. "Thanks for calling me."

Seungmin beamed.

The other members returned later that day to find Minho and Chan asleep piled onto each other while Seungmin was watching cartoons, and showered the little with lots of praises and affection for being so responsible even in headspace.

And cuddles. Lots of cuddles (mainly from Felix, who was grateful nothing had happened to Chan), along with a bowl of ice cream.

After all, leaving two unattended littles could have ended in chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone's following my (completely unrelated to agere) youtube channel, Ramencat5, stay tuned for an update! I made Bang Chan the bestest card ever and I'm putting up the process video soon!


	12. i think we both need sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seungyu requested: "Maybe Jeongin is super exhausted from all the work the band has to do, and not doing so great mentally because of lack of sleep? And Seungmin is also tired and during one of the practices he trips and bumps into Jeongin and Jeongin snaps at him (not meaning it ofc)  
> And then Seungmin gets upset and some sht goes down"
> 
> Ooooooh boy this one's a doozy .-.
> 
> Also hyung line best boys, thank you and enjoy

Comeback season. Or rather, pre-comeback season. The period of time when the members group together and go through an intensely long schedule to prepare for performances in the near future.

Jeongin was already exhausted from both schoolwork and the upcoming comeback combined. Sprinkle in some stress-induced insomnia and you have the recipe for an irritable maknae.

"Come on guys, I know this is a hard choreography but we can do it. A few more run-throughs and we're done for today." Chan attempted to boost everyone's morale at the end of their short break, giving them some time to catch their breaths and drink water before continuing.

At this point Jeongin couldn't be bothered about breaks anymore, he just wanted to go home. It was already late into the night.

He wasn't the only one who felt the impending pressure, to some extent all the members were affected. Most of them worked well under pressure, though, and some of them found this very period of time fun because they liked the productivity.

The vocal line members were working slightly harder for this round of promotions, Jeongin and Seungmin in particular. The album showcased their vocal abilities more than the previous ones and Jeongin was making it his personal mission to give it his all, thus sacrificing his down time.

All of the Stray Kids members knew his habits at such times, how he'd shut everyone and everything out to focus on work, how he got tired both physically and mentally, the stress manifesting into his daily routine to the point where the smallest inconvenience could set him off. They made sure to keep an eye on him and give him room in case he ever wanted to open up about his struggles.

Even though Seungmin was in the exact same situation, minus the schoolwork, he was more level-headed, able to stay calm with everyone no matter how tired he was. He was more empathetic towards the others, knowing they were having a hard time too, so he couldn't bring himself to fight over anything that annoyed him.

This particular day had been a bad one in his eyes. He'd taken too long to perfect his vocals in an earlier lesson, his shoulders ached due to the awkward position he had slept in, and he couldn't focus on anything with how loud his thoughts of showing his best side were.

"Okay! Five, six, seven, eight," Minho started the music and darted back into position, beginning the group choreography in sync with the others.

Seungmin moved on muscle memory alone, barely registering what he was doing apart from the repititive loop of _don't mess up_ in his head. He noticed the fire in Jeongin's eyes, suddenly unsure of how he could approach the younger later. He was planning on regressing, but he wasn't sure if he could when Jeongin was at his limits.

His distraction was the start of a worse downward spiral. He lost his balance in the middle of the next round and tripped, bumping into Jeongin, making him stumble into someone else and effectively halting the dance.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" Jeongin snapped as soon as his feet were stable on the ground. "We can't afford to keep pausing practice for stupid mistakes like this hyung, either you get a grip and power through like the rest of us or get out of the way. We're all tired."

Pindrop silence. Seungmin didn't think the dance practice room had ever been this quiet before. Now a new thought was replaying in his mind. _You're in the way you're in the way you're-_

He managed to respond with a small nod, pressing his lips together. His voice was low and soft. "I'm trying my best."

"Try harder," Jeongin scoffed, turning away.

"Okay. I won't bother you guys anymore."

Jeongin's expression morphed as Seungmin moved to restart the music, realizing he had gone too far with his words. "Hyung, I..."

Seungmin didn't acknowledge him, merely resuming the group dance. The others shrugged and joined in, deciding to resolve the situation after the session was over.

"Hey, are you alright?" Changbin pulled Seungmin aside while the members cleared out of the studio. The latter seemed a little distant, something about the look in his eyes did not sit well with Changbin.

"I'm fine." Seungmin grabbed his backpack and heading out the door.

"He's not fine," Minho pointed out. "There was no point in asking that."

"We're hoping he'll come to us." Chan put his hand on Changbin's shoulder, sighing.

"He won't." Minho sounded sure of himself, though he spoke with a tinge of sadness. "Sometimes you have to bring the comfort to him first."

The ride back to the dorm was strangely normal all things considered. It was only until they stepped inside that the members realized something was off.

"You want to shower first?" Hyunjin directed the question at Seungmin, knowing he liked to freshen up right after practice. Felix nodded, gesturing for him to go ahead of them.

Seungmin went past them, almost as if they weren't there. Jeongin stopped him. "Hyung I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean any of it, I wasn't thinking about what I said."

Seungmin didn't bat an eye.

"I'm trying to apologize here, look at me." Jeongin sighed in exasperation as Seungmin moved to the door to his room.

"Real mature hyung, ignoring me. Quit acting like a..."

"Finish the sentence," Seungmin ordered him.

"Like a child."

He froze with his hand halfway to the doorknob. "Leave me alone," he muttered.

"Wait." Jeongin grabbed his wrist. Seungmin shook him off angrily, meeting his eyes.

"Leave. Me. Alone. I'm not repeating myself," he growled, and shut the door behind him.

"Okay, now I'm worried." Jisung pressed his ear to the door, sending a confused look to Jeongin when he headed into his room. "I hear absolutely nothing. No talking, no crying, no tantrums."

Chan cleared his throat. "Everyone go shower and remove your makeup."

Changbin and Minho simultaneously glanced at each other.

"Jeongin?"

"Seungmin."

Changbin went to the maknae's room while Minho stayed outside the closed door with Chan. They would have to wait for the bathrooms to free up anyways.

"Should we go in?"

Minho answered Chan by twisting the knob. "It's our room."

Seungmin hated dirtying his clean sheets, so it wasn't surprising to see him on the floor under his blanket by the furthest wall. He looked up for a split-second at the sound of the door before fixating his gaze back to the floor.

In that moment they caught his glassy eyes and pout. He looked so fragile, his head barely peeking out from under the blanket folds.

"I'll leave you to..." Chan gestured to Seungmin, who was already burrowing back into his nest. The leader moved to grab a handful of clothes and shuffled out to give them some space. Minho was much better at dealing with littles, especially since he rarely had a strong visible reaction to any situation.

"Seungminnie, I'm coming near you." Minho made sure his footsteps were audible as he neared the bundle Seungmin was in and sat down beside it.

"Is it okay if I talk to you?" No answer. "We don't have to talk, that's okay."

Soon Seungmin uncovered the tiniest part of the blanket, enough for part of his face to be seen.

"What's going on in your head?" Minho frowned, holding his hand up to the window Seungmin had just created. The younger reached up and laced their fingers together, his eyes still wide and showing restraint.

"You can understand me, right?" Seungmin squeezed his hand, pulling it into his cocoon to press his cheek against it.

"One squeeze means yes? Okay, then how about two squeezes for no?"

A squeeze. Minho smiled softly. "You had a really bad day, huh baby?"

One squeeze. "You want a hug?"

Two squeezes, though it felt reluctant. "Are you sure?"

There was no answer for a while, then Minho heard him sniff. "S-sorry, shouldn't."

Minho shushed him, running his thumb along Seungmin's hand. "You have feelings, let them out. It's okay, it's only me here."

He exhaled in relief as Seungmin lifted his arms. The older pulled him into his lap and hugged him with a firm but gentle touch, unrelenting when he thrashed around in his hold with louder sobs.

"Jeongin mad, Minnie bad."

Not dada, not even Innie, but 'Jeongin'. Yikes.

"Oh baby he's not mad. He's just grumpy because he needs a nap."

"Minnie bad, Minnie bad!" He wailed. Minho's heart broke at his sobs. Third person speech - Seungmin was trying not to stay in headspace. Either that or he was keeping himself from slipping further. Maybe both. He carefully rocked Seungmin, his movements subtle enough to soothe him instead of startling him.

"No no no, you're not a bad boy, don't say that. You're our good little Seungmin." The little turned so he could grab hold of Minho's shirt and bury his face in it.

"I _promise_ you're a good boy. Remember yesterday? You helped me feel less scared when we had a photoshoot in a high place?"

If Minho's heart wasn't broken already then it shattered into a million pieces as Seungmin blindly lifted a small curled pinky finger. He linked their fingers together, hoping Seungmin believed him.

"M-m-min hyun... I... wan... li'l..." he struggled to voice his wants, mumbling into the older's chest.

"Shh, I got you. Be as little as you want. I'll take care of you, okay?"

He kept rocking Seungmin until he calmed down completely, their pinkies still intertwined.

"Lee Know, can I come in?" There was a knock on the door.

"Yeah," he called out. Chan kept his distance, taking a small step forward.

"I ran a bath for him."

Minho nodded, rubbing Seungmin's back as he whimpered. "I don't think he wants to let go of me."

Seungmin shook his head. "Stay."

"Jeongin has something to say-" Changbin brought Jeongin to the room, assuming the open door meant they could walk in, but he was cut off by Seungmin's cries, pressing himself impossibly further into Minho.

"Alone, 'lone p'ease," Seungmin begged.

Minho shot the two of them a glare, hoisting Seungmin up. The latter wrapped his legs around Minho's waist, refusing to pull his face away. "Really bad timing."

He carried Seungmin past them into the bathroom, although he wouldn't know it with his eyes squeezed shut. "I'm gonna give you a bath, okay?"

The younger male finally looked at his surroundings, nodding. Minho undressed him and lowered him into the bathtub.

Bathing Seungmin was more difficult than usual because he did _not_ want to release his grip on Minho's clothes. Still, he managed to shampoo the little's hair and rinse him off without much of a fuss. He dried him off while the water drained out of the tub, making sure he was comfortable with wearing a pull-up before dressing him in the clothes Chan brought over.

"Can you wait with Chan hyung while I shower?" It took a lot of coaxing and sweet words, but soon Chan was drying Seungmin's hair with a towel in their room.

Changbin poked his head in, this time coming alone. "How is he?"

"He's okay for now." Chan smiled fondly as Seungmin leaned into his touch, melting at the feeling of Chan rubbing his head. Without thinking, he lightly bit his sleeve.

"You want your paci?" Chan asked. Seungmin blinked at him slowly.

Changbin found the item beneath Seungmin's pillow, wiping it off before giving it to him. He sucked on it and relaxed further, warm fuzzy thoughts replacing his distress.

"We love you, you know that?" Changbin cooed, poking Seungmin's cheeks for a bit.

"S'eepy," Seungmin snuggled closer to Chan, dropping his head on the leader's stomach.

"Me too baby, I'm sleepy too." Chan yawned, grinning lazily as Minho shuffled into his bed with warm fluffy hair.

"Scoot over and we can share." Minho and Chan cuddled Seungmin from either side, murmuring reassurances to him until they were all asleep. Changbin turned off the lights.

Seungmin was usually the first to wake up, but when he opened his eyes the clock read 10am and the room was empty. He rolled over, smushing his cheek into the pillow - Minho's pillow. He could only recall bits and pieces of the previous day's events.

"I must have slipped really young," he mused, grimacing at the wet padding clinging to his inner thighs. He didn't really want to get up and do anything, but he wasn't about to seek out one of the members for help. He liked doing things for himself.

Where was everyone anyways?

Right on cue he heard voices from outside the room. "I'm going to check on the baby."

Seungmin was pretty sure his face was scarlet down to his neck when Jisung came up to him. "Good morning."

"Did you just call me the baby?" He yawned. "That's Hyunjin's title. I'm just me."

"We have more than one baby in this house." Jisung lay down beside him, putting an arm over his body.

"Jisung," he giggled, "I gotta get up."

"The hyungs are making breakfast." Jisung batted his lashes, attempting to convince Seungmin to cuddle for longer.

"No Ji, I hafta... change. And probably talk to Jeongin."

He let Seungmin sit up, smiling at him in understanding. "He's in our room, still moping over yesterday."

Their room was on the way to the bathroom anyways, so Seungmin took a mini detour. He lifted his palm sideways and brought it down on Jeongin's head as if slicing through a cake, only much more gentle. The maknae glanced up, startled.

"You're an idiot," Seungmin started, "You should take care of yourself and your stress, dummy, or you'll go off at anyone and everyone like a ticking time bomb."

"Go on." Jeongin made no move to contradict him.

"Nah, that was it. You know I can't hold grudges for long. But don't say I'm in the way ever again. Or say I'm acting childishly. That was not okay."

"I'm really sorry."

"I know. You can make it up to me today, I'm still stressed as hell." He gave Jeongin a soft smile as he walked away.

"I'll do better than that," Jeongin said to himself.

He stayed by Seungmin's side the entire day, making sure his little was comfortable and happy.


	13. two babies and a big boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hwiyounicorn asked: "It isn't really a specific request, but could you maybe write something with all the three littles together? We have yet to see the three of them regressed at the same time" 
> 
> and AtinyBlackRose requested: "Can you maybe do one where Changbin takes care of Seungmin (or all three littles) for a bit?"
> 
> So I put them together! A lil bit of communication, some fun, and a lot of wholesome fluffy little time!!! Enjoy :)
> 
> Also >~< I wanted to post this earlier but my phone notes app updated and the text format was weird when I pasted the chapter here. Welp.

Seungmin poked his head into each of the rooms in the dorm. It was a habit that the others noticed him doing often before he turned in for the night. He wanted to see his members' faces as they slept - it gave him a sense of peace to know they were resting.

He was slightly surprised to see Chan and Hyunjin sitting on the floor of their room, Minho probably sleeping behind the drawn curtain over his bed.

"What's keeping you guys up?" He sat down with them.

"We're," Hyunjin paused to giggle softly, "Discussing our little headspaces."

"Without me? Oh Hyunjin you wound me." Seungmin clasped a hand over his heart and scrunched up his face in fake pain.

"We only started a minute ago. I was telling Hyunjin about how I don't like pacifiers." Chan stretched his arms, clearly tired from a long day of work.

"You've never even tried them!" Hyunjin argued, wincing when he heard Minho groan. "Sorry hyung, I'll be quieter."

"He's tried them, he experimented with my backup once," Seungmin affirmed, much to Hyunjin's surprise. The latter's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, wait you have a backup? Is it the translucent purple one you let me borrow before I got mine?"

"That's the one."

Chan seemed to blush at that, though it was hard to tell with the way he propped himself up on his hands. "Yeah. It's not particularly great or terrible to me."

"I have a question." Hyunjin and Chan tilted their heads in anticipation. "Do you guys um, how do I say this, do you like protection?"

Chan answered first. "I've never felt the need to wear anything, so for now it's a no."

Hyunjin was more reluctant to answer. "Well, you see, there was- the other day I- I mean Felix asked me if," he stammered. "Seungmin I borrowed one of your pull-ups a few days ago to try them out but I forgot to tell you about it."

Seungmin blinked, smiling reassuringly at him. "So that's why one was missing when I counted yesterday. I keep track so I know when to buy more. How did you feel about them?"

"First off I only did it because Felix asked me if I liked them in headspace and I didn't know, so I grabbed one and tried it on when no one was around. I slept in it too. It was okay, not really my thing. I don't need them." He shrugged.

"Ah." Seungmin shifted slightly so he could hug his knees to his chest. "It's funny because you figured you're always in babyspace when you regress, and I... you know."

"You're usually older but need them when you're in babyspace," Chan helpfully filled in. "It's okay, Minnie. Everyone's different."

Seungmin chuckled. "Yeah. We're different."

"There's one thing I don't get. If you either don't need anything or you need diapers as a baby, why do you have pull-ups?" Hyunjin leaned away abruptly as Seungmin smacked his arm.

"You can't just say it like that," he mumbled in a childish manner, lowering his head.

"What, diapers? And pull-ups?" Now Hyunjin was intentionally teasing him, poking his side as he repeated himself. Chan joined in as well. Seungmin curled up more and more, ears reddening at the thought of his younger headspace.

"At least let me answer." Seungmin pouted, tickling Hyunjin to turn the tables on him. Once they were composed again he spoke.

"I use them when I'm feeling young, but not babyspace young. When I'm around Chan hyung's age in headspace I like wearing them. It feels safer," he admitted. "That rarely happens, so you wouldn't know. There's also the times when I feel younger but I.N's not around. Then I change myself, and that's easier to do if I'm in a pull-up."

He closed his eyes at the last word.

"Aw Seungmin, don't be shy about these things." Chan pinched his cheek.

"Trust me, I'd rather not feel fluttery in my stomach whenever I say or hear the words pull-up, diaper, or bottle. I'm still getting used to everyone being so normal about my youngest ages. I don't know how you guys aren't embarrassed."

"It's because you created this safe space. We already knew everyone would be supportive as we figured things out. On the other hand you had to worry about being accepted in the first place before you let yourself explore the younger side of the spectrum." Chan patted his back.

"You'll get there." Hyunjin hugged him, putting his chin on Seungmin's shoulder.

"Kids, go to sleep. Or do I have to tuck you three in?" Minho's groggy voice had a softness to it.

"Yah, I'm your hyung!" Chan stated, shrinking when Minho yanked his curtain back to look at him questioningly, daring him to object again.

He murmured sweetly, "Go to sleep Channie hyung."

The leader grinned, nodded, and climbed up into his bunk. There was no arguing with the dancer, especially since he had good intentions. Usually Chan would be up until the early hours of the morning but Minho had insisted on him, as well as his other roommates, getting some sleep for the following day - the three of them were to have a relaxing day together in their headspaces. It had been planned for weeks, but overlapping schedules made it difficult to arrange for half the members to stay at the dorm for an entire day. Luckily Changbin had no plans for the next day.

The others climbed in bed as well, exchanging quiet goodnights.  
  
  


"Hyunjin, you smell kinda like me."

Seungmin had just finished his breakfast, greeting Hyunjin with the odd statement as the latter came from his morning shower. He had stumbled into the bathroom as Seungmin finished drying his hair.

Hyunjin hummed, taking a seat beside him to lean on him.

"Did you borrow my shampoo _and_ my lotion?" Seungmin's tone was light yet accusatory, and he nudged Hyunjin when he nodded sheepishly.

"I like your baby lotion. Smells like milk." Hyunjin shrugged. "It makes me feel tiny."

"Aw. Eat up, Hyunjinnie, I'm going to check up on Channie. Lee Know hyung should be leaving any minute now and he won't like that."

Sure enough, he found Chan pouting at the prospect of Minho leaving him for the day in spite of the little having regressed numerous times in his absence. Changbin had his hands on Chan's shoulders, bending down to reason with him as Minho finished getting dressed.

"Say bye to Lee Know hyung or he'll be sad," he tried.

"But but I sad 'cuz Lily leave me." Chan's pout deepened.

Minho, satisfied with his reflection in the mirror, turned to him and hugged him. "My sweet Channie, I'm not leaving _you_ , I just have some work to do. I'll be back soon, then we can do whatever you want. You'll be good while I'm gone, won't you cub? I'll miss you the entire day."

"Channie be good for Lily." He broke into a wide grin as Minho hugged him again.

"Lily?" Changbin was answered with a glare from Minho. The dancer headed out the door, passing Seungmin with a slight nod.

"Why do you call hyung Lily?"

Chan giggled. "Is because he's Lily." He toddled to his pile of toys to find something to entertain himself with.

"I can answer that Binnie!" Seungmin went to Changbin, the older welcoming him by ruffling his hair.

"Yeah?"

"Mhm! Don't tell him I told you, but hyung's favourite nickname is Lee Lee Know." Seungmin, now in headspace, bounced on his toes in excitement. He spoke quietly, as if he was disclosing a well-kept secret.

  
"So Channie shortened it to Lee Lee, and then it became Lily. Isn't it cute? He calls him a flower!"

Changbin agreed.

They heard a shriek and turned to see Chan waving a rubber ball around.

"Binnie Binnie catch!"

In the next few minutes Seungmin pulled out a laptop and turned on his favourite little cartoon. Changbin was busy with Chan, rolling the ball back and forth between them from opposite ends of the room. Changbin uttered small praises every time Chan caught the ball, melting at how his face lit up every time.

Then Hyunjin timidly peeked into the room. He watched the others wordlessly, slinking down the doorframe to sit. He never liked standing when he was little, it always made him keep one foot in his adult headspace.

Seungmin was the first to take notice of his presence. "Hyunie!"

"Hi hi." His eyes were wide and he made grabby hands.

"Climb on my back." Seungmin wasn't confident enough to carry him, so he piggybacked him to his bed and cooed at him for a bit.

Alternating between cartoons and playing with the ball was how Chan spent his morning. Hyunjin whined after some time, making small gestures and noises to convey what he wanted. Eventually Changbin figured out that he wanted to play with blocks in the living room, and kept him company there until it was time to prepare lunch.

"Little ones! Go wash your hands, lunch is ready!"

Chan was preoccupied, rolling the ball into the living room and following it there.

"Channie," Changbin said patiently, pulling out a chair for Seungmin. "It's lunchtime."

The little hummed, paying him no mind. He kept tossing the ball between his hands.

"Channie."

"Later."

"Channie..." Changbin's tone never hinted at any irritation, but Chan was more adamant in extending playtime.

"Wanna play ball, eat later!" He drew his arm back clutching the toy, unsuspecting of Hyunjin crawling around behind him. Before he knew it the back of his hand was colliding with Hyunjin's face with too much force to be brushed off. He immediately gasped and recoiled in horror, dropping the ball.

Hyunjin reeled backwards, sitting down hard. His face contorted into an expression of pain and he burst into tears, crying loudly.

"Sorry, sorry! Channie didn't wanna hurt you!" Any idea of throwing a tantrum to delay lunch was gone. Instead Chan tried consoling the younger, apologizing loudly over and over again.

Changbin, who had been watching the scene unfold, finished serving Seungmin his meal first, then resolved the situation. "He'll be fine Chan, go wash up. I can handle this."

While Chan washed his hands and made his way over to the table Changbin gently dragged Hyunjin closer, shushing him and rubbing his back. "Oh baby, did you get an ouchie? It's okay. You're okay, see?"

He proceeded to poke and tap Hyunjin's cheeks and nose randomly, and soon Hyunjin's snivels were replaced by soft laughter. "There's that precious laugh I love to hear. Boop! Now how about some food?"

Hyunjin babbled throughout the meal. Changbin engaged with him, pretending they were having a coherent conversation.

"Binnie can I drink some juice? Please?" Seungmin placed his empty dishes in the sink one by one.

"Channie want juice too!"

"Sure, can you pour it by yourself?" The caregiver wiped Hyunjin's mouth, feeding himself and the younger at the same time.

"I can!" Seungmin grabbed his and Chan's sippy cups, dutifully pouring out fruit juice without spilling a drop. He took his drink to the sofa, content with watching the others as a pastime. Changbin later put Hyunjin down near his feet so he could wash the dishes, and Chan brought out more of their toys. It was calm until Chan decided it would be fun to roll his car on the walls, and Changbin, when the caregiver made his way over to the regressors.

"Chan, ow-ow my hair Channie stop tugging!" Changbin's hair somehow got tangled in a wheel.

"Want some help?" Seungmin offered, taking Chan's place. In the meantime Hyunjin managed to climb onto one of the sofas and was attempting to come down from it hands-first.

"Hyunjin, Hyunjinnie don't do that." Changbin didn't like how he teetered on the edge of the seats, ready to fall face first onto the floor. "Hwang Hyunjin you'll fall!"

Hyunjin sat up and let out a small whimper, startled.

"Uh-oh, full name," Chan said.

By then Seungmin had succeeded in freeing the toy from Changbin's hair. The latter pulled Hyunjin into his lap and moved to the floor.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You're not in trouble. I just want you to be safe, okay baby?" He cooed. "Here, you can take this."

He reached into the toy box and found Hyunjin's rattle, handing it to him.

Seungmin, who hadn't let go of the toy car, tugged on Chan's arm.

"Here Channie, cars go on the floor. Not in hair, silly. It's more fun if you do this." He pushed the car hard enough for it to roll to the other end of the room. It stopped abruptly as it hit the wall. Chan squealed. He ran over to give it an experimental push, clapping and following it around.

Hyunjin shook his rattle with little energy, snuggling close to Changbin. "You wanna take a nap?" He nodded, dropping the toy to brush his thumb along his lips.

"Chan, it's nap time for you too."

"Not tired!" Chan was a ball of energy, going around the room with his car. Changbin shook his head.

"Seungmin, can you help me find Hyunjin's paci? I'm not sure where he keeps it."

Seungmin nodded eagerly. "It'll be like a treasure hunt!"

Everything was an adventure for little Seungmin. Rummaging through the closet? More like exploring a spooky cave. Going through the blankets and pillows in the beds? Venturing into a forest. He had a very active imagination.

"Now if I were my ju I'd be hiding... here." Seungmin opened a drawer, surprised to find Hyunjin's pacifier and both of his together. "Found it!"

He waited for Changbin and Hyunjin to return from the bathroom and proudly showed them the item.

"Good job! You've been so helpful today." Seungmin beamed. He gave Hyunjin the soother and patted his head. Changbin smiled, laying Hyunjin down. He was already half-asleep from sucking his pacifier alone.

"I'm gonna stay here." Grabbing a book, Seungmin made himself comfortable beside Hyunjin.

Chan entered with his car a few minutes later, refusing Changbin's requests to take a nap.

"Whatcha doing?"

Seungmin held out his book, wrapping an arm around Chan's waist as the older man settled down between him and Hyunjin.

A while of idly carding his hair and soon Chan was out like a light. Seungmin grinned, shifting around so the two sleeping members would be left undisturbed.  
  
  


Two members arrived at the dorm in the evening, Changbin greeting them at the door. "Hyunjin's still asleep, and Seungmin's organizing the toys in his room."

Jeongin grinned. "Perfect. I'm going to surprise him, I brought his favourite snacks."

"Channie?" Felix wondered.

The aforementioned member headed into the room at that moment, holding a towel in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. "Changbin? I'm gonna take a bath."

"Out of headspace already?" Felix embraced him. Chan shook his head, his eyes following Jeongin as the maknae crept into the hall.

"I'm just pressing pause so I can have a nice relaxing bath."

"You don't need to be big for that. Do you want me to help?" Chan blushed, fiddling with his towel before nodding.

"Innie! Innie's back!"

They saw Seungmin throwing himself into Jeongin's arms as they passed by, assorted toys arranged in small piles on the floor.

"Ah, my pup, how was your day?"

They let them be.

The other missing dormmates showed up after dinner, when the others were preparing for bed.

"Shh, don't let them see you." Jisung told Hyunjin. They were huddled behind the door. Seungmin raised an eyebrow at them, putting his hands on his hips.

"What are you doing?"

"Look." Jisung pointed to Minho's bed. Chan lay in the lower bunk, eyes half-lidded. Minho inched towards him, like one would approach a scared kitten.

"Channie," he called out softly, "My little bear cub."

The little tilted his head, his lips curving up at the corners. "Lily."

Minho hummed. "Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I'm late."

A pair of arms went around him as Chan pressed his head to his chest.

"Missed you."

"I missed you too." They stayed like that in pleasant silence. Chan got drowsier, leaning on his caregiver for support.

"You sleepy? Sleepy little one." Minho nuzzled him, making kissy noises. Chan was too far gone to answer, a content sigh leaving him. Minho kissed his cheek.

The others behind the door stepped out of view. "I've never seen hyung so soft with anyone," Jisung said with a fond look.

"He's like that with his kitties. Maybe he loves Channie like that." Seungmin yawned, taking Hyunjin's hand. "Come on Hyunie, ni' ni' time for us."

"Sleep tight." Jisung kissed their foreheads, sending them into the room and closing the door.

Seungmin hugged his stuffed dog, Hyunjin sucked on his pacifier and Chan felt warm and fuzzy with Minho.

Soft snores and sweet dreams filled the room that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stream Back Door (but not at the expense of your health, you come first)!
> 
> Fun fact: you so much as breathe wrong around the littles and Minho's eyes will flash red like an anime character when opposed. He is VERY protective of them :3


	14. flipped roles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> randvmfandoms asked "have u considered,, minho regressing?"
> 
> and although my answer to them was basically (and I'm paraphrasing here) "I love little Minho but I need plot ideas", I thought up a chapter today! So here we are :) prepare for some hurt/comfort y'all, some of this is based on personal experience.
> 
> If anyone's sensitive to car accident-related topics, please read with caution. Nothing serious happens but Minho gets scared anyways.
> 
> Also SKZ GOT THEIR 3RD WIN!!! We all worked so hard for it! Congrats everyone, I'm so happy!

Minho was rarely this shaken up. But at 2am when the roads were only lit by streetlights and the headlights of few cars, where he was in a taxi that had just swerved out of the way of a wild car, he couldn't help but swallow hard, his mouth dry and heart rate spiking.

He rode back to the dorm, paid and made his way to their door as quickly as he could. His hands were shaking, he noticed, as he pulled out his keys and opened the door.

He washed up and changed into his pajamas, sighing in the direction of Hyunjin and Seungmin's bunk bed. Seungmin was curled up with his blanket around him, and Hyunjin's hair was braided. Minho held back from snorting at the picture of Seungmin braiding his long blond hair for fun.

He wandered into the living room, laying eyes on a hooded figure, the only light source in the room being the laptop screen in front of them.

"Chan hyung," he whispered, so softly that Chan didn't hear him. He bit his lip, tiptoeing to the armrest of the sofa. By then Chan had caught his movements from the corner of his eye.

"What's up? How was your walk? Felix and I went there ages ago, it was peaceful and healing."

The leader raised an eyebrow as Minho scoffed and sat down beside him, leaning on his shoulder.

"It was... okay." He breathed in deeply, letting Chan's scent comfort him. His arms snaked around Chan's body.

Chan decided to shut his laptop and put it aside for now. Minho hardly ever clung to him like this before. It was making him think.

"Not a word." He heard Minho mutter.

"I said nothing."

He could tell Minho was off, but he wasn't sure how. He seemed more vulnerable, in a way Chan couldn't put his finger on. Minho was one to put his feelings on hold to take care of the other younger members, but this was a moment where he and he alone was feeling something.

Humming, he rubbed Minho's shoulder and pulled him closer until they were hugging properly.

"There was a car," Minho began, without any prompting from the older. "It kept swerving between lanes, back and forth, back and forth. I told the taxi driver to look out. Then the car was in our lane, coming right at us, and my driver swerved to avoid it, we just barely avoided a collision by an inch. There were police cars following that car, they all passed by us. Maybe whoever it was wanted to get away from a crime scene or something."

He exhaled slowly. "Then it was quiet again, we started moving again, and I came here."

Chan nodded after a beat of silence. "Are you scared?"

He didn't ask it in past tense, because anyone in that situation would have been jumpy. He definitely would have been.

"I don't know. Maybe. We almost got hit."

"You're okay right here." Chan rubbed his back for a while, pausing when Minho tensed slightly. "What's wrong?"

"I don't-I don't know. I'm not feeling better. Just wanna sleep."

Chan resumed his motions, wishing he could do more for him. Taking care of Minho was something he never could get enough of, seeing how the younger tried his best to be a thoughtful and caring hyung.

"Sometimes I'm really glad you're not the oldest. You're used to being a dongsaeng yet you don't receive that much attention as the second oldest. You even take care of me."

Minho was half-asleep on Chan, but he managed to smile and mumble a response. "I like it that way. I know I'm loved."

Chan shook his head, letting him fall asleep. "You deserve so much more sometimes."

Morning came in the form of bright rays of sunlight from behind the curtains, and a sweet voice rousing the elder men from their slumber.

"Hyung, did you sleep well?" Minho cracked one eye open to see Seungmin tapping Chan with a gentle finger. Once he was stirring Seungmin turned to Minho.

"Morning baby." He meant to tease Minho as usual and go along with their divorced couple dynamics, but the dancer didn't mind the pet name this time.

"Tired." He blinked, rubbing his face into the closest thing he could find, which was Chan's stomach.

Chan laughed softly. "You came home late last night, of course you are."

He moved to get up with Seungmin's help. Minho felt weird as he shifted off Chan's chest onto the cushions. He missed Chan already. He wanted something, cuddling, but more, and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

"Hyung, come back." He spoke in a low voice. The pair in front of him looked at him, and for some reason beyond him he wanted to shrink down and disappear altogether under their fond morning gazes.

"Feel funny," he said, resting in the crook of Chan's neck as he embraced him.

"Funny how? Is it like last night? Do you still feel bad?"

He shook his head. "Not bad. Want... be taken care of?"

More coherent thoughts flooded into his head as the fog cleared up, all of them with the same theme. Before the others spoke up he added, "Feel small, I think."

"Small?" Seungmin knelt down.

"Lee Know _little_." His eyes widened as he recognized the feeling, only this time he was on the other end.

Chan pulled back to look at him in shock. He knew Minho needed some attention but he wasn't prepared for him slipping into a younger headspace. The sudden loss of contact made Minho frown.

"Seungmin?" Chan turned to said person. After all, he was the most experienced with age regression out of the others.

"Relax hyung, caregivers can regress too. They know how it works, so sometimes when they get too stressed or overwhelmed they might take to it for comfort too." He made sure to turn to Minho and make him feel included in the conversation. "Did anything stressful happen recently?"

Chan nodded. "He had a bad scare last night."

"Him regressing might be a one-off thing or it might happen more in the future, it depends. Minho, baby?"

Minho hummed to show he was listening, his lip quivering.

"I know this is scary. My first time was scary too. But the great thing is you're not alone, we're all here!" He gave him a bright smile. "You're safe with us."

Chan could see him relaxing already, lowering his feet off the sofa.

"Safe?" He whispered.

"Yes, you're safe." Seungmin giggled as he finally smiled.

The gears in Chan's head turned. "You just need to know you're safe, hm?"

Minho nodded shyly.

"Okay. I'll look for things for you." He stood up, heading to the bathroom to wash up. Then he made a beeline for Felix's room. After a few moments of hesitation in which he took in the sight of the sleeping boy, he nudged him.

"Lix, Lix hey, you can go back to sleep after this but do you have any cat stuffies?"

The younger Aussie propped himself up on one arm once he was up. "Why is that the question you ask me first thing in the morning? I might have a cat, I have loads of stuffed animals."

He looked past Chan to see Minho pulling Seungmin by the hand into the room. The dancer rubbed his face with a towel and put his chin on it, in a familiar childlike manner.

Felix's mouth formed an 'o'. "Is he little?"

Minho let go of Seungmin to hide behind Chan.

Seungmin cooed; he figured if Minho was Chan's person when the latter was little, then the opposite would also apply.

"Yeah." He shared a knowing look with Felix. The latter was also aware of caregivers regressing, so he was less skeptical of the situation.

"Let's see if we have a kitty stuffie for our little kitty here." Felix stumbled out of bed and shuffled through his belongings, his sleepy movements amusing to Minho. He giggled, peering at Felix from where he was.

"Here you go."

He was handed a striped stuffed cat. After inspecting it he hugged it and melted into the fur. "Thank you Lix."

Felix ruffled his hair. "Welcome. Did you eat yet? No? You should get some food in that tummy." He poked his stomach.

Minho squealed. "Okie."

He took Chan's hand and followed him to the kitchen, leaving Felix and Seungmin alone.

"Are we going to have four littles on our hands today?"

Seungmin managed to yank his pillow from him and stuff it in his face. Felix pushed him away, laughing.

"Honestly, Lix. I regressed yesterday!"

"I know, I'm just messing with you."

Seungmin rolled his eyes.

Minho insisted on having cereal for breakfast and Chan poured a bowl for himself as well, digging in. Then when the bowls were empty and their stomachs full, Minho settled in Chan's lap and politely asked if they could watch cartoons.

They were a few episodes in when Minho let out an embarrassed laugh. "So. That just happened."

"You feel better now?" Chan kissed the top of his head. He made a noise on impulse, nodding.

"That's good. But I wish... I like cuddling you like this." Chan wanted to give back all the love Minho gave him when he was regressed.

"I like this too. You... don't have to stop." Minho glanced at him. He clutched the stuffed cat and sighed happily, wiggling in Chan's lap comfortably.

"I won't. I've got you."


	15. happy seungmin day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seungyu sent in this one: "It was recently MinMinnie’s birthday!! I would love to have everyone celebrating his 20th and the littles hanging out :DD"
> 
> Birthday chapter! *squeals* this is gonna be great! I had to do this asap because the 22nd already passed, but it's still later than I wanted it to be because I've had a bad neck ache all day. No worries though, I'll be fine soon!
> 
> Oh yeah! I took some details from Seungmin's bday vlive for this :)

"Puppy, where are you?"

Seungmin was about to lather his hands with soap as he heard the maknae call for him. He rolled his eyes, continuing to wash up, having just come from a radio show with the other members.

"Why?"

"Just come here!"

He wiped his hands and headed to the source of the voice, ending up in the living room. "What is it?"

Jeongin sat on the floor with an opened package, springing up when he caught a glimpse of Seungmin. His hands were behind his back.

"I, uh, happy birthday hyung, I got you something!" He grinned, thrusting a mint green bundle of cloth into Seungmin's hands.

The older raised an eyebrow, wordlessly holding up the cloth. It was a mint-coloured cardigan. He glanced at it, then Jeongin, then the cardigan again. He wasn't expecting anything so soon. Even though it was his birthday, they had a busy schedule in front of them. Heck, they had to leave for a music show in an hour. So this was a surprise.

"See if it fits."

He nodded, sliding it on. It was oversized, the sleeves coming past his wrists. Just how he liked it. It wasn't a particularly special gift, but the mere action made him feel loved. And fuzzy. The burn of unshed tears crept up his throat.

"It's nice, I love it." He swallowed down his emotions and smiled, waving a sleeve paw in Jeongin's face. "You didn't have to."

He moved to hug him, laughing as Jeongin pushed him away in mock annoyance. "Yeah yeah now go get ready."

He didn't get a chance to thank I.N properly for the rest of the day, only able to get scattered hugs and compliments from the members backstage. When he finally caught a break he turned on vlive to chat with fans, grateful for all the birthday messages and love he received from them.

He took a minute to ramble on about Jeongin's gift. "I'm not thanking you, but you warmed my heart."

He hoped Jeongin was watching.

When he headed back to the dorm it was late. His birthday would be over in a few hours and although he had fun, he wanted to spend some time with his members before the day was done.

What a surprise it was for him to get home and flick the lights on in his room to see the members crowded there, holding up a banner that read 'Happy 20th, Seungmin' with assorted snacks piled around them.

"You guys..." He was definitely tearing up now. As he turned to swipe his eyes he noticed Chan and Hyunjin holding a balloon each in their arms, with the numbers 2 and 0 drawn on them in bold marker. Upon further inspection he saw cartoon drawings around the numbers. The members giggled.

"Channie blew them up just for you!" Chan hopped around him, tossing the balloon in the air and chasing after it.

Hyunjin tilted his head to meet Seungmin's eyes from behind the other balloon.

"The banner was Jinnie's idea but Chan added the balloons." Jeongin explained from his place, squirming away from the others. "They regressed when we got here because they were so excited to see your reaction."

Seungmin yanked Chan into his arms and squeezed him. "Thank you."

Next he kissed Hyunjin's forehead and took Jeongin's hand. "I be li'l too?"

Everyone cooed. "Of course pup! It's your special day after all."

"Minnie day Minnie day!" Chan abandoned his balloon game to run up to Seungmin and hug him, pinning his arms down. Hyunjin, not wanting to be left out, whined and reached for them, practically stumbling off his bed.

"Woah there baby," Seungmin moved to him and pulled him into the hug, "Now it's a group hug!"

"Yay!" Chan grabbed their hands and started jumping again. Soon all three of them were spinning in a circle, hand in hand. Someone started playing music in the background, and it really felt like a party.

"Can we watch a movie? Pretty please?" Seungmin asked the others, gently pushing Chan away as the other little chanted 'movie' repeatedly.

"We can. Let's get you into some jammies first, okay pup?" A few minutes later Jeongin had Seungmin in some oversized clothes.

"Pwincess?" Hyunjin mumbled amidst all the shuffling as the members brought a laptop and made room so they could all watch from a comfortable angle.

"We watch what Minnie wants 'cuz is his day," Chan told him. Albeit pouty, Hyunjin nodded.

"I wanna watch princesses! That's a great idea!" Seungmin snuggled in the best position according to himself, which was between the other two littles with his back touching Jeongin's chest and a blanket over his knees.

The others watched and sang to their hearts' content while Seungmin curled up quietly, simply enjoying the moment. It was rare for all of them to gather like this and he wanted to savour it.

"You alright Min?" Jeongin checked up on him, carding his hair loosely with his fingers.

Seungmin hummed. "Bestest birfday eva." He held his caregiver's arms around his waist to keep them there. Not that I.N was letting go anytime soon, but he wanted the reassurance anyways.

"You're littler, aren't you. Should I get your paci?"

He shook his head. "No no, 'm fine."

By the end of the movie Seungmin had his eyes closed, needing to lean on Jeongin to stay upright. Chan was already asleep and had shifted to Minho's lap, whereas Hyunjin was wriggling happily in Han's arms as Changbin and Felix serenaded him.

"S'eepy, da." Seungmin had stuffed the corner of his blanket in his mouth sometime during the movie, his words coming out muffled.

"Then sleep, baby." Jeongin helped him lie down and petted him, carefully replacing the damp blanket between his teeth with his pacifier. Seungmin wasn't sure when, or if, he had gotten up to retrieve it. Perhaps he had it with him all along.

"Happy birthday, Seungmin. You might be a year older than me, but you'll always be my little one."

"A'ways?" The little whispered.

"Always."

Seungmin sucked his soother slowly, words escaping him as he struggled to stay awake. He nuzzled Jeongin, hoping that was enough to convey what he couldn't say.

"Sweet dreams."


	16. ♡playdate♡

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The self-indulgent sequel to chapter 10 for staymoons :D time for the Oneus x Stray Kids playdate! Feedback is much appreciated ♡
> 
> Also half of this got deleted unexpectedly so I had to rewrite it again :P
> 
> Here's a treat for tomoons because I get little ju vibes from here -> https://www.vlive.tv/video/164117

After a few meetings between both groups through which they became comfortable enough to drop debut-based honorifics, they finally decided it was time for a playdate for their littles. Or specifically, Seungmin and Dongju. Chan and Hyunjin still had to tell the other group, much to Seungmin's displeasure.

"It hasn't really come up in conversation!" Hyunjin defended himself from an excited Seungmin on the day of the playdate, shielding himself with a pillow as Seungmin battered him with his stuffed dog.

"Channie hyung, you gotta tell them! We can all have so so so much fun together! It's been forever and a half since we were little together."

Chan, from the other side of the room where he was tidying up, shot a nervous glance to Minho beside Seungmin. Minho shrugged.

"I'll tell them sometime, but I doubt I could show them that side of me," Chan said with a sheepish grin.

"I'll tell them when hyung does." Hyunjin made a deal.

"Fine," Seungmin huffed, running off to find something to organize. They had to clean up their dorm before their guests arrived.

Just before noon the doorbell rang. "I got it!" Seungmin rushed to open the door, but Chan beat him to it. As the leader and oldest he wanted to welcome Oneus in.

He and Seungmin greeted the six men and bowed, then Seungmin was rushing into Dongju's arms.

"Ju-ju I missed you!" The little spun around.

"Me too Minnie!" Dongju linked their arms and ventured into the living room. Chan led the others there as well, since the rest of Stray kids were gathered on the sofas and the floor.

"Hey Chan, where can I set these down?" Ravn lifted two bags up, and Leedo held a duffel bag in his arms.

Chan snorted. "Put them over there beside the chair, hyung."

"Did you pack the whole dorm or something?" Jisung asked incredulously. He was closest to the bags, surprised at how full they were.

Hwanwoong barked out a laugh, settling on the floor beside Seoho. "Well we brought the essentials and a game or two, but Doongdoongie made us pack his entire stuffed animal collection."

"I packed my blankie too!" The little ran over to unzip a bag and pull out his blue blanket, running back to Seungmin in record time.

"I haven't seen his bed this empty since our debut. In fact I couldn't tell there was a bed under all of these."

Hwanwoong's comment sent most of the people present into a fit of laughter.

"Where's your maknae?" Leedo asked. "I.N?"

"School," Felix sighed, "He has some make up test today because he missed one for our schedules last week."

"Miss him," Seungmin mumbled quietly. Dongju heard him, patting his head.

Keonhee found a spot between Minho and Changbin while everyone sat down. They made idle chit-chat for a while, breaking off into small groups within the living room.

Dongju had the bright idea of playing with one of the games he brought, and soon he and Seungmin were smacking levers to collect as many plastic marbles they could in a very intense game of Hungry Hungry Hippos. "I love the hippo game!"

After two rounds they decided they needed more players and managed to rope Keonhee and Changbin into the game. Hyunjin leaned on Felix, trying to pay attention to the conversation they were having with Hwanwoong about dancing. Seungmin was distracting him unknowingly, his innocent childish behaviour making Hyunjin's fingers itch. He wanted to join them, but what if he dropped?

He glanced at Chan as the leader sidled up to him, seeming to be in a similar state. He was glancing at Minho with his lower lip tucked between his teeth, eyebrows slightly furrowed as if to ask a question. Funny enough, Jisung was paying enough attention to notice them, raising an eyebrow. 'You're going to slip', he mouthed, raising a finger. He then politely excused himself to go to the rooms.

"He's getting stuff ready for us isn't he," Hyunjin muttered.

Their heads turned as they heard a loud screech. "Is that a doggy?"

Seungmin showed off his only stuffed dog, which made Dongju want to dump out all his stuffies.

"It's so cool that you guys have another little!" He exclaimed, already shuffling through the bags of his belongings and placing his toys down one at a time.

"Actually," Seungmin paused, moving to grab Hyunjin and Chan's hands and lean close to them. "Can I tell them, can I can I? It'll be nice for all of us."

Chan shrugged. He _had_ been planning on telling the others sometime during the day, and Hyunjin had agreed with him, but now he wasn't sure if he could wait that long. The sight of two littles in headspace and a boatload of stuffed animals sent him to the fuzzy corners of his mind.

"You don't have to tell them yet-"

"No no hyung, I want to." Hyunjin whispered, squeezing Chan's free hand with his. He made eye contact, the older nodding in understanding. They were both on board.

"Go ahead, Minnie." Chan kept his hand clasped with Hyunjin's as Seungmin turned back to Dongju, and by default the other hyungs. They watched him with anticipation.

"There's something you gotta know. We don't have one little, we have three!"

"WHAT?"

The other little fell onto his back dramatically in surprise, making Hyunjin giggle. He sat back up to look at the trio again.

"So, all three of you?" Leedo gestured to them.

"Yeah." Chan shrugged, trying his best to conceal his shyness. Nothing could stop his ears from turning bright red, though.

"And here I thought it was uncommon," Ravn mused.

Seungmin giggled. "It might be."

"A long while after Seungmin opened up to us about it we found out that we enjoyed it, so..." Hyunjin chuckled.

Keonhee looked up from the game he was engaged in with Changbin, claiming he was losing anyways. "You don't have to be awkward about it with us, I mean I know we're new friends and all but we're here to have a good time. You should have fun too."

Chan broke into a smile, tugging Minho's sleeve. Minho pinched his cheek.

"You know I'm always here for you."

He giggled. "Lily, comfy clothes?"

Minho took his hand and led him to their room.

"W-wait up!" Hyunjin slunk away and followed them.

"He calls Lee Know hyung Lily?" Dongju tilted his head at Seungmin.

"Yep! 'Cause he's his caregiver." Seungmin eyed a puzzle box poking out of one of the duffel bags. "Is that a puzzle?"

"A princess one! We can solve it together!" He immediately abandoned their game and pulled the box out, holding it out for Seungmin to marvel at the Disney princess theme. "Are we supposed to have caregivers?"

"Depends if you want one and need one. I like it when everyone takes care of me, especially Innie, so he's my dada. Minho hyung is Channie's Lily 'cuz he trusts him the most, and," he started giggling, "This part's funny. Hyunjin's the littlest but he doesn't have a person. We all take care of him."

"Huh. I guess I'm like Hyunjinnie, all my hyungs look after me."

At that Ravn came up to him and ruffled his hair. "I buy you all the toys you want and this is how you repay me?"

Keonhee and Leedo started bickering over who played with their little the most, Ravn rolling his eyes.

They dumped out the cardboard pieces and made room for them to solve the puzzle. Seungmin squealed in excitement. "This is gonna be so fun Ju!"

"Aw Minnie, isn't that what you call a paci by?" Jisung returned, carrying Hyunjin at the hip.

"Damn, he's strong," Leedo observed. "I can't carry Dongju like that."

Said little stuck his tongue out at his hyung.

"Hannie," Seungmin whined, "You're embarrassing me!"

"Seungmin," Han copied him teasingly, laughing as the little pressed the pillow to his face. He pushed it away with little effort. "He didn't know the word for a pacifier when he was younger so he called it a 'ju', isn't he adorable?"

Seungmin groaned. " _Ji-suuuung_!"

Dongju's mouth was slightly agape while the others tried to suppress their laughs as Seungmin buried himself under the couch cushions. "Why ju?"

"Makes a ju-ju-ju sound when I use it, guess that's why," Seungmin whispered to his friend.

"You have a paci, that's so cool! I didn't know you have a pacifier, do you go really little? I've never been smaller than this."

"We all go very little. Jinnie's a baby most of the time, Channie's a little older, and I'm, well, me." He peeked out from behind a cushion. "Sometimes I'm older, sometimes I'm tiny, or in between."

Dongju looked mesmerized. "Do you guys remember anything afterwards?"

"Good question." Seungmin shuffled back to their puzzle and slotted another piece in place. "I usually remember everything. Channie does, but it's so fuzzy inside he has to think hard for a while. Jinnie... hm. I dunno."

He moved his gaze around the room until he laid eyes on Felix and Ravn playing with Hyunjin, the little in Jisung's lap.

They solved the puzzle for some time, left with a few stray pieces when the front door opened. Jeongin bowed his head as soon as he was in view. "Hi hyungs, there was a lot of traffic."

Seungmin squealed, dropping the pieces in his hand to stand up and rush over to him.

Jeongin had no time to brace himself, letting out a small 'oof' at Seungmin's eagerness as he hugged him. "Hi Minnie, you having fun?"

"We're doing puzzles, and Hyunie's li'l too!"

He found Hyunjin playing with Keonhee's hair, now sitting in Ravn's lap. Ravn grinned at Jeongin before going back to entertaining the regressor in his arms.

"Where are Chan hyung and Lee Know hyung?"

He got his answer as Minho came in piggybacking Chan, settling in a corner away from the others.

"Hi Channie I like your bear onesie!" Dongju waved, frowning when Chan stayed pressed in Minho's neck.

"He's shy Ju. But look without them noticing and listen."

Dongju nodded, turning enough to watch them. If he paid enough attention he could recognize a quiet melody - a familiar lullaby. Minho was looking at Chan with stars in his eyes and the little relaxed after a minute, pulling away.

"They're so soft together, they're perfect."

"They fit like a puzzle." Dongju turned back to the floor. "Look, we're done our puzzle!"

They begged Keonhee and Seoho to take pictures of their accomplishment, receiving small praises.

"Wow, that's a lot of pieces, guys! You did it so fast!" Leedo patted their heads.

"I'm going to start on lunch," Minho declared. Ravn, Seoho and Changbin immediately sprung up and offered to help, as did Jeongin, though he had to change out of his uniform first.

Hwanwoong eyed Chan's small ponytail as Minho placed him in Jisung's lap before heading to the kitchen. "Hey Dongju, didn't you want to do your hair before you came?"

Dongju gasped, putting the puzzle away. "I left my clips at our place. I was gonna look pretty."

He pouted, a dejected expression erasing his bright smile.

"I could look through our accessories..." Felix offered, trailing off as Hwanwoong shook his head.

"Doongdoongie, wanna see a magic trick?" He held a closed fist in front of him. "Say a magic word and I'll bring your clips here in my hand."

The little hesitantly mumbled "Abracadabra?" and sighed as Hwanwoong showed him an empty palm.

"Oh? But what's this behind your ear?" He brought his other fist out from behind Dongju's ear to reveal all his colourful plastic hair clips.

The little jumped in glee. "You brought them! Put 'em on, please!"

Hwanwoong decorated the edge of his hair with clips, handing him the rest. "Go ask Minnie if he wants any in his hair."

"Great idea hyung, thank you!" He scurried away.

"You're good with kids, hyung." Jisung told him.

"I like seeing kids happy," Hwanwoong stated, gazing at Dongju fondly.

Seungmin did in fact want hair clips, letting Dongju do his hair before grabbing his phone to capture their matching looks.

Once lunch was ready and served, most of them piled food onto their plates and scattered. Chan insisted on eating whatever was on Minho's plate, Seungmin sat beside Jeongin, and Hyunjin sat in Felix's lap, letting him and Ravn take turns feeding him.

"Everyone's so good with kids, and then there's me. I feel like I'll scare them off with my deep voice," Leedo said as he took more chicken.

"Oh come on hyung, if that were true I'd have to live in a separate dorm." Felix laughed. "But I feel like I suck at lullabies."

"Same."

"You do not!" Chan and Dongju loudly objected in unison. Even Hyunjin whined to affirm it.

"I like Leedo hyung's singing." Dongju mumbled.

"Lixie sing good too!"

The men in question shared a flustered look and thanked them.

"Note to self: when having self-esteem issues, consult a little." A small smile played on Seoho's lips.

Jeongin chuckled. "They work wonders."

The four littles united to watch Tangled after lunch. Dongju saved a seat between the other three regressors with his blanket, attempting to find the perfect cuddle buddy for when he would eventually take a nap. Chan and Hyunjin were already half-asleep as the movie started playing.

"Woongie hyung," Dongju held up two stuffed animals, a large bear and an equally big plush Dumbo. "Which one do I take?"

Hwanwoong replied in a cute voice, "Whichever you want."

Dongju pouted. "Hyung, pick one," he whined with a small stomp.

"Why don't you cuddle both?" Keonhee suggested. "They're both big comfy friends you have, and I'm sure they want to watch the movie too!"

Dongju looked at Keonhee as if he had made a scientific breakthrough.

"I'll do that." He climbed on the sofa and leaned on Seungmin, sharing his bear with him.

They cheered when the musical aspect that was in most children's' movies began. "Rapunzel song!"

They were all asleep piled onto each other halfway through the movie. A couple of pictures, shifting Chan and Hyunjin to their beds, and lots of cooing ensued. When Dongju stirred it was because his group had to return to their dorm.

"We're leaving now?" He pouted, wrapping his arms around Seungmin's figure abruptly.

The other opened his eyes at the action. "What's goin' on?"

"Gotta go home." Seungmin froze mid-stretch.

"Did everyone say bye-bye?"

Jeongin shook his head.

"Phew, then we have time." Seungmin took his friend's hand and gave him a small tour of their bedrooms as they exchanged goodbyes. Chan waved goodbye, and to everyone's surprise Hyunjin whined and reached for Dongju to give him a hug.

Once all was said and done they gathered by the door. "Thank you for coming," Minho chirped with a pleasant smile.

"No, thank you for having us. We had a blast." Ravn's eyes flitted to Seungmin and Dongju hugging each other tightly. "You think we can pull them apart?"

Dongju giggled, biting Seungmin's shoulder lightly.

"Ju, I've told you before, we don't bite people," Hwanwoong scolded him.

"It's okay, Hyunie does soft bites when he can't find his paci. He says he loves us that way."

Keonhee blinked, raising an eyebrow at Dongju. His lisp was heavier as he wondered aloud, "You know, maybe Ju has younger habits. We never considered him regressing under five before."

"Is it hard to take care of younger ones?" Leedo asked Minho.

He smiled. "They just need more help with basic tasks and sometimes they can get fussy. Like this little cookie monster trying to steal cookies before lunch!"

Chan giggled at Minho's scrunched up nose. "The cookies were for Hyunie."

"Oh, did baby Hyunie say Channie, gimme cookies before lunch, let's not listen to Lily and get tummy aches? Didn't think so, you little rascal." Chan grinned as Minho pulled him into his arms.

Jisung bounced Hyunjin on his hip, letting his jaw drop as Hyunjin reached for Ravn and cuddled him. "Gee, hyung, Hyunie really likes you."

He handed his little over.

"Is he always in babyspace?" Seoho asked Jisung.

"Yeah, unless he wants to play a game or something. Either way he doesn't talk much or walk around on his own, and he gets scared and sensitive if we're not around. Which is why I'm so surprised he's comfortable with you guys." He had a proud look in his eyes.

"That sounds like a lot of work." Hwanwoong stepped into his shoes.

"Eh, you get used to reading body language and whines instead of needing words, it might take longer to understand what babies need compared to an older little though. But I love cuddling and skinship so it's worth it in the end. Knowing I helped him stay happy when he's feeling vulnerable?" Jisung clasped a hand to his chest. "It's very fulfilling."

"We'll keep that in mind. Thank you for everything." Ravn put Hyunjin down as he squirmed, the younger crawling back to Jisung's feet.

"Oh baby, the floor here's dirty because of the shoes, you can't crawl here. You'll need a bath." Felix scooped him up bridal style, the other members crowding behind him.

"We'll talk soon! Bye!" Seungmin kept waving until the elevator doors had closed and Oneus were no longer in sight. He sighed happily, backing into Changbin while trying to close the door.

"Oops, sorry."

"It's okay Minnie. Did you have fun?"

"The most fun." He nodded. Changbin headed to where Chan was to play with him for a bit.

Jeongin took Seungmin's hand. "Then you can tell me what I missed while I was taking a boring test." He let out an exaggerated yawn for effect, grinning at Seungmin's soft laughter. He briefly lifted Seungmin off his feet and swung him around.

"Innie!" He planted his feet and kissed Jeongin's cheek. "Thank you for letting today be awesome."

"Anything for you, pup. Now walk me through your day."


	17. taking breaks is important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Multiple requests put together for this one!
> 
> Seungyu: "i would l o v e to see Seung and another little together but like, Seungmin (accidentally or not idm) regressed a lot?? He’s so soft he’s my little puppy baby"
> 
> They also added "Ig if seungmin could be in like a 1-2 y/o littlespace?? That’d be fine :))"
> 
> JiminWreckedSugaBias: "can you do one where seungmin has a long day and forgets to eat and after dance practice they go back home and he regresses but because he didnt eat he passes while playing out and it really worries the others?"
> 
> I had a plot idea that fit both of these so I combined them! Thank you for the requests! I may have rushed through this a bit but I hope you enjoy it all the same ^-^
> 
> (and to my readers, check out JiminWreckedSugaBias's works! They're all so amazing ♡♡♡)

Seungmin was a morning person, which meant he could eat breakfast at a decent time. But this fine morning he went to the company to find two of his practice classes had been rescheduled on short notice due to unavoidable circumstances, moving up to his normal lunch gap. He figured he would get a chance to eat later.

Later never came.

Once he had finished with his solo company activities he was left with a measly twenty minutes before dance class to grab a bite to eat. He was planning on eating a small meal but by the time he reached the cafeteria entrance it was time to practice.

"I'm hungry," he groaned, heading to the dance studio. On any other day he could have missed out on the first few minutes to eat (otherwise Chan would scold him to the ends of the earth). However, today they had to perform in front of their choreographers for an evaluation.

Ignoring the pangs of hunger in his stomach became easier over time as he focused on dancing and dulled it with water to quench his thirst.

When practice finally ended two hours later he was breathless and exhausted, more than he would be after completing a concert setlist. He swore there were black spots swimming in the corners of his eyes even though he hadn't overexerted himself.

Then again, an intense dance practice so long after a meal may have been a poor decision on his part.

Somehow he was still standing when he made it home with the others. Just barely standing. The ground seemed to sway beneath his feet with every step he took into the kitchen and at one point he sat down in a chair, pausing his quest for food.

It occurred to Seungmin that he would very much like to be carried around and fed. Lifting his head from the table was out of the question, as was going to someone to help, so he settled for waiting until the dizziness passed.

"Seungminnie, if you're gonna take a nap then do it in our room." He recognized the voice as Hyunjin's. "I was going to ask if we could play together but it can wait."

"I'm kinda dizzy right now, we can play later. I have to eat," Seungmin mumbled, sitting up a few moments later. Aiming to grab whatever he could find in the fridges and heat it up, he stood up abruptly.

Hyunjin was just finishing a cup of water when he caught Seungmin getting up. The younger swayed and opened his mouth to speak. No words could come out before his eyes closed. In an instant Hyunjin abandoned his cup and rushed over to grab Seungmin as he went down, cushioning his fall.

"Woah woah woah Seungmin." He let his legs buckle under his weight, collapsing to the floor while holding Seungmin up with his arms. In mild panic he yelled for the hyungs who were capable of dealing with the situation better than him. He could already feel himself slipping into headspace.

Chan and Changbin were the first to respond, running in moments later.

"What happened?" Changbin asked as Jeongin darted in, Minho following behind him.

"Minnie said head was spinnin' an' he din' wanna play, but he got up an' fell an' I got him." Hyunjin whimpered, cradling Seungmin's head in his lap. "Minnie up up please, no nap time."

Chan sighed. "Okay, here's what we're doing. I.N, go grab an energy drink and a granola bar, he'll be tired when he regains consciousness. Changbin, take Hyunjin somewhere," he paused to find a suitable word, "Better. Lee Know, help me carry him to the carpet, it's softer."

Once Seungmin was off the hard wooden floor Chan exhaled slowly. Minho swore he caught a sliver of worry in his eyes. "We don't know why he passed out, but we'll figure it out. He'll be fine." He squeezed Chan's hand, getting up afterwards to take a handful of water from the nearest sink. He sprinkled it on Seungmin's face, a slight smile tugging at his lips as the younger stirred.

By the time Jeongin brought the snack and drink Seungmin had opened his eyes, brushing his hair back as he sat up.

Chan immediately moved behind him to support him in an upright position.

"Oh thank goodness, he's awake," Jeongin muttered in relief.

"Why am I on the floor? I was over there and then everything went black."

"You fainted. Hyunjin said you were dizzy," Minho told him.

The younger's eyes widened. "Is he okay? I must have scared him badly I should go find him-" Chan put a hand on his chest to keep him from getting up.

"Here, take a sip of this and then eat the granola bar." Jeongin handed him the energy drink first, then the snack.

"We all got scared Minnie. Hyunie's fine, but right now we're worried about you." Minho pressed his lips together.

After finishing half the granola bar Seungmin spoke up. "I didn't mean to."

"Didn't mean to what?" Chan adjusted his grip so he was holding Seungmin with more care against his chest.

"Haven't eaten since breakfast." Seungmin pouted. "Wanted lunch, but my classes were rescheduled and then we had dance practice all this time."

"No wonder you were dizzy, you had no energy." Minho tapped his hand, silently requesting him to finish the granola bar. He chewed slowly, handing the empty wrapper to Jeongin as he took the energy drink.

Chan could sense his lethargy seeing as how he directed more effort into holding the bottle to his lips. After a few large gulps he lowered his head, the bottle cap still pressed against his lips. Sports caps were similar to a baby bottle nipple in that he found them easy to suck them without much thought.

"Seungmin, don't suck the cap, it's meant for drinking," Chan said kindly, craning his neck to meet his eyes. They were glossy.

"I fainted 'nd suddenly th't scares me," Seungmin mumbled, finishing the drink and pulling away from the bottle altogether. "M' sowy."

"Hey, you meant to eat. We'll just get you a heavier meal, okay?" Jeongin smiled at him.

"Da- Innie can you feed me please?"

The detail didn't go unnoticed. Minho took his hand and kissed his knuckles. "Feeling small?"

Seungmin nodded, pressing his face to Chan's shirt. "Too li'l."

Chan cooed. "You're allowed to be as little as you want to be. You're tired, hungry and a bit scared. If you feel small then be small."

"My fault."

The two hyungs with him protested.

"It's a mistake any of us could have made." Jeongin patted his head. "I'll warm something up for you. If you need anything tell the hyungs, okay?"

Seungmin hummed.

He happily finished all the food Jeongin fed him later, slurping the rest of his soup eagerly. A few drops dribbled down his chin, which Jeongin wiped away.

"Cutie."

They moved to Seungmin's room afterwards, where Changbin was using his stuffed munchlax to entertain Hyunjin.

"Baby!" Hyunjin squealed and pointed to Seungmin.

"How's he doing?" Changbin wondered as Seungmin wriggled in Jeongin's hold to grasp at the air around Hyunjin.

"He's okay, he just ate."

Seungmin crawled to the other little, interested in the rattle Hyunjin gripped in one hand. He squealed when Hyunjin shook it, lifting his head to follow it.

"Want?" Hyunjin asked, shaking the toy in front of him. He blinked at the rattle with a blank look. Then Hyunjin moved it away, waving it from side to side.

Seungmin made a small happy noise, chasing it with playful tilts of his head and small taps of his fingers on the rattle head.

"Woof woof," he mumbled quietly, grinning as Hyunjin exaggerated his movements to play with him.

"He's such a puppy," Changbin cooed.

Jeongin nodded, taking a seat beside the others. "Hey babies."

A while later Seungmin and Hyunjin started taking turns with the rattle, shaking it with excitement.

"Dada!" Seungmin exclaimed, demonstrating how the toy worked for Jeongin.

The maknae laughed softly and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad you're having fun, pup. I hate seeing you worn out."

Any remaining worries he had disappeared at the sound of Seungmin's giggles. He put an arm around the little anyways, for the both of them to feel secure. All that mattered now was they were okay, and together.


	18. my baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yananvation requested this prompt: "it’s okay if you don’t think the idea is in chara for your story, but what about innie feeling jealous that seungmin spends more time with the hyungs while little lately ? and seungmin and him have a special day together to make up for it ? i always see it the other around w seungmin feeling jealous but i think it’ll be interesting to see innie feeling that way or both of them at once." 
> 
> I like this idea! Seungmin and Jeongin deserve a day to themselves. <3 sorry this is a bit late, I've had a busy few weeks

It was another dull day for Jeongin. He caught a glimpse of Seungmin following after a few other members, excitedly jabbering in his headspace voice.

How Jeongin so desperately wished Seungmin was with him instead. Of course, the little was on good terms with him, probably giving him space to finish whatever he was working on. A part of Jeongin wanted to be bothered, though. He was willing to drop anything for little Seungmin.

Recently, however, Seungmin seemed to manage perfectly well without needing much of Jeongin's attention or assistance. Which was great, it was a milestone of trust for all of Stray Kids, but Jeongin had a nagging thought in his mind that refused to go away.

No matter how grateful he was to the others, he couldn't help but envy them. They hadn't struggled like he had. He was the one who had to constantly reassure Seungmin that his needs were valid and his regression was accepted.

"Innie," Seungmin sing-songed, skipping into the room.

Jeongin sighed. He was in the middle of writing something important. It could wait, it was only a matter of jotting down an idea to pitch to Chan later, but Seungmin's presence was making it difficult for him to concentrate.

"You wanna play a game?"

"Can't you find someone else to play with?"

"Innie, I want you."

"Sure you do."

"I-?"

That got him to look up, shrinking in his seat as he noticed two things. One, Seungmin was not regressed, his phone screen displaying a racing game that he often played with the maknae.

Two, he had come off more passive-aggressive than he had intended, judging from Seungmin's sheepish smile that grew more forced by the second.

"Is there something we should talk about? Did I do something?" He took a seat beside Jeongin, placing a gentle hand on his knee.

"No, you did nothing in particular. This is going to sound stupid." The younger placed his notebook and pens aside, turning to face Seungmin.

"If it's bothering you it's not stupid."

He took a moment to collect his thoughts.

"I miss taking care of you - little you. You've been spending a lot of time with the hyungs and it's great, it's fantastic that you're comfortable with them in headspace. I, well, it's been a while. I was so used to it being just the two of us, you know?"

"When I had just confessed and felt awkward regressing with company? You," Seungmin paused to chuckle and pointed towards his bed. "You bought me that blanket and tried easing me out of my hiding spots. It took so long to get used to regressing around everyone else."

"Look where you are now." Jeongin smiled at him warmly.

"Are you jealous?" Seungmin teased, tickling his sides.

He barked out a laugh.

"Maybe. I want to have you to myself sometimes."

They lay down, Seungmin placing his head on Jeongin's stomach. "We could have a day to ourselves. Tell the others, kick them out."

It sounded nice. Having a day of undisturbed time with Seungmin, free to do anything with no restrictions.

They could be louder, for one. Be more honest about their emotions without being judged. Most importantly, there would be no distractions.

They discussed it further, then took it to the table when everyone was having lunch. The members were on board with it, and Jisung practically scolded Jeongin for not coming up with the idea.

"This kid, I swear. He's always huffing and sighing and pouting when Seungmin is regressed and doesn't go to him. Of course you need a dada-puppy day."

"Hyung!" Jeongin swatted him as Seungmin buried his face in his hands.

"Jisung, I might murder you if you say that again."

Said member giggled.

"Innie-Minnie day, then."

Jeongin and Seungmin had to wait another ten days until they could have their day together. The maknae decided to have Seungmin sleep with him. That way they could wake up together once everyone else was gone.

"Innie," Seungmin fiddled with the ears of his stuffed dog, not quite looking at Jeongin, "You like it when I'm really young."

It came as a statement rather than a question.

"I know you do, because I'm more dependent on you, then," he added, affirming his own words.

Jeongin had no intention of denying what was obvious. "Yeah, but it doesn't matter. How old you'll be in the morning depends on you. I'll love taking care of you no matter what. I always have."

"Thank you for that."

Morning flooded into the room in the form of bright sunlight and a soft wake-up call from Changbin. He beckoned to Jeongin to get out of bed, giving him a thumbs up as he left. The main door closed, leaving the pair in silence.

Jeongin rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Even spending a night with Seungmin did wonders - he had no trouble sleeping with him around.

His eyes trailed over Seungmin's sleeping figure. The little was curled up on his side with his hands by his head. Attempting not to disturb his slumber, Jeongin slowly crept out of bed to wash his face and make breakfast.

When he came back Seungmin was fighting to stay awake, drooping eyelids threatening to send him back to dreamland.

"Good morning Minnie." Jeongin pressed his cheek to Seungmin's.

Seungmin yawned, wriggling around to face the other. "Mornin' dada."

"Aw, hi baby," Jeongin cooed. "My precious little one. Did you sleep well?"

Seungmin hummed. "Gotta brush teefies, wanna do it myself."

Jeongin nodded. "Okay pup, whatever you're comfy with. I have breakfast on the table."

He had Seungmin sit between his legs once he returned, alternating between feeding the little and himself.

"Innie, you gotta eat too!"

The little held the last of Jeongin's jam sandwich to his lips. Jeongin carefully took it into his mouth, humming in satisfaction.

It wasn't any different from the rest of his sandwich, but coming from Seungmin it was the best bite of them all.

After the dishes were done they snuggled on the couch, relishing the moment. It warmed Jeongin's heart to simply exist like this. He missed this.

He gently rocked the little in his lap, wondering why he was staring into space with a pensive look. "What is it, Min-min?"

"I'm thinking." Seungmin glanced at him and smiled, lifting his arm to cup Jeongin's cheek.

"About what?"

"Remember that day from long ago, I was really nervous 'bout bein' li'l?"

"You've had a lot of days like that," Jeongin pointed out, giggling as Seungmin wrinkled his nose. "Can you be more specific?"

"I got juice everywhere, sippy opened up."

"Ah, I remember now."

The day in question was clear to Jeongin as if it were yesterday. Seungmin had regressed and isolated himself from everyone else. Not intentionally, but the door was closed and he had been alone for some time. Jeongin had found him on the floor playing with stickers, decorating a notebook - and his face.

He could still remember the flower stickers on the little's cheeks.

Upon noticing Jeongin's presence, Seungmin had crawled under his blanket and hidden himself there, a bundle of nerves on the inside and a bundle of cloth outside. He refused to come out in fear of rejection and disgust, despite all the kindness he had heard through words. Jeongin had managed to coax him out with a sippy cup full of juice and one of the many stuffed animals on the maknae's bed.

The little, slipping further in his distressed state, had accidentally dropped his drink, spilling juice all over himself and the floor as the lid popped off the sippy cup. He had started crying and apologizing frantically.

It was the first time he had regressed to an infant headspace at all.

The maknae had done his best to clean everything up, change Seungmin and calm him down, promising to buy him a better sippy with handles.

"Why the sudden memory, pup?" Jeongin asked, pulling out of his thoughts.

Seungmin shrugged.

"Felt comfy then, feel comfy now. Want juice," he added with pouty lips.

Jeongin snorted, pinching his cheek. "Okay, I'll get you juice."

They put on some songs and turned the dorm into one giant karaoke room, belting out lyrics and singing duets to their hearts' content. Seungmin took Jeongins hands and they spun around, giddy and full of energy.

Then, when their throats were sore and limbs tired, they settled for one of their favourite movies. Lunch came afterwards, and as soon as Jeongin had given Seungmin a bath, full of warmth, bubbles and soft gazes, the little's eyes fluttered.

"Shh, it's nap time, pup." Jeongin dried his hair, tucking him in and kissing his hair before taking a quick shower himself.

With his undivided attention on Seungmin, he had barely checked his phone. So, he went through notifications and responded to messages from his hyungs while absentmindedly rubbing his hair with a towel.

There was a small tug on his shirt when he sat down on his bed once his hair was dry.

"Hey there," he chuckled, watching Seungmin fist his clothes and wiggle closer. Seungmin gradually climbed up, sitting up and leaning onto Jeongin for support.

"Dada yo' hair's warm." He rubbed his cheek into the caregiver's tousled locks.

"It's the hairdryer," Jeongin mentioned, taking him by surprise by scooping him up and swinging him around.

Seungmin squeaked, aware that he could slip out of his grasp any moment. Despite the younger's frequent workouts, it was getting harder for him to carry Seungmin at the hip, or even bridal style. Still, Jeongin could manage for a few seconds.

He planted Seungmin on his feet and nosed the top of his head.

"You want a snack?"

Seungmin shook his head. "Come, let's play a board game!"

Eventually Jeongin did get him a snack in the middle of their game, refilling his sippy cup with water. They played a few rounds, Seungmin eagerly chattered about butterflies and puppies while helping with dinner, and all too soon the day was done, the two of them getting ready for bed.

"Innie?" Seungmin climbed into his own bed, bidding Jeongin goodnight before they parted ways. The others had already returned, but were giving the pair space.

"Hm?"

"Thank you fo' bein' my dada."

Jeongin's lips curved into a wide grin. "No, Minnie, thank _you_ for trusting me to be your dada."


	19. there for you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sfaen wanted to see this one: "could you write a story about how Minho and Seungmin, in their usual style, tease and annoy each other, like "I don't like you at all haha", but for some reason, Seungmin regresses and then they just care about each other?" 
> 
> 2min 2min 2MIN oh my gosh I love this pairing so much! Here you go <3 just in time for Lee Know day! 
> 
> Writing this reminded me of one of my favourite songs (There For You - Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan), hence the chapter title :)

"What are you doing here?"

Minho walked into his room to find Seungmin playing on his phone in bed.

"What does it look like?" Seungmin replied without missing a beat.

"I don't like you at all," Minho stated, rolling his eyes.

Seungmin knew that couldn't be further from the truth. He gave Minho a lazy grin. "Then why did you come here? If you can't handle me, go away."

"This is my room, duh. I live here, I can go wherever I want."

"Just say you missed my face." Seungmin wriggled his eyebrows with a laugh, watching Minho move around the room, seemingly in search of something. He was muttering to himself, scowling at everything he laid eyes on.

"Why didn't I make my bed this morning? Stupid blanket's crumpled up like this, I put my clothes right here earlier, where are th- why are they over there? Ugh, they're folded wrong, the creases are all weird..."

Ah, it was one of those days. Seungmin was used to hearing Jisung complain about an irritated Minho. 'This is stupid and that's stupid and everything is stupid for him when he's in a mood', Jisung had told him, wondering why he always ended up dealing with that situation. There was no bite to his words back then, only frustration at not knowing how else to help other than giving Minho some space.

Seungmin reached for his stuffed dog Daengmo, an idea forming in his head. Sure, it was probably childish, but there was no harm in trying.

Minho paused in the middle of his quiet rant when something soft was being pressed to his cheek. He turned his head to see Seungmin poking him with his toy.

"What is it, Minnie?" He spoke kindly no matter how difficult it was. He didn't have it in him to project his frustrations onto any of the littles.

"You're feeling fussy. Hold this."

Before he knew it he had his arms full of Daengmo, and Seungmin was guiding him to sit down.

"I am not being fussy!" He retorted. "Everything is a mess today."

Seungmin took a seat beside him. "Everything is a mess today?"

Thinking back on the day's events, Minho sighed. "Yeah. Too many things went wrong and they just kept building up."

"Hug him."

"What?"

"Hug my pup!"

Innocent wide eyes convinced him to hug the stuffie to his chest, his chin resting on the soft plush.

"Maybe you're being fussy, or you're right and the whole wide world is stupid today. Either way you need a break. Sometimes you gotta stop and breathe to calm down. Daengmo helps me calm down."

Minho let the corners of his lips quirk upwards as Seungmin's voice rose in pitch.

"You have a lot of big thoughts in your head for one of our youngest ones."

Seungmin shrugged, a shy smile spreading across his face.

After clearing his mind, and basking in the quiet atmosphere for a while, Minho murmured, "I feel like a child."

Seungmin narrowed his eyes.

"Not that that's a bad thing!"

He started giggling as Seungmin leaned close enough to bump his nose into the older's cheek, still squinting at him.

"Boop."

Now both of them were giggling.

Seungmin grabbed his phone, stood up, and poked his stuffed dog. "I'm gonna go."

He jabbed a thumb towards the door and left the room, giving Minho some time to himself.

It took a few more minutes of quiet contemplation for Minho to realize he was feeling much less annoyed at everything. He gave Daengmo another squeeze before holding the toy away from him.

"You'll tell him I said thanks, won't you?" Minho chuckled at his own actions. "Ah Seungmin."

He gently placed the stuffie back onto the aforementioned member's bed, patting its head. "Now to move on with my day."

Seungmin gave himself credit for Minho's bright mood when he saw him fooling around with the others later.

The clock read nearly 4am when Minho woke up with a dry throat. He huffed, sliding out of bed. His eyes adjusted to the darkness quickly and he glanced at each of his roommates. They were all sound asleep, though Seungmin was curled up in an unnatural position. Minho brushed it off.

In the kitchen he quenched his thirst with water and stayed there to listen to the stillness of the night, raising an eyebrow when he heard rapid, padded footsteps. He recognized the pattern to be Seungmin's.

The hall lit up dimly as the bathroom light turned on. As Minho made his way back to his room he noticed the door was ajar.

It was extremely uncharacteristic of Seungmin to leave the door unlocked at night. In the day? Sure, with eight members in one dorm they were bound to share the bathroom. But Seungmin liked his privacy at night, not one to enjoy the darkness seeping in from the outside.

Still, Minho waited until he was sure something was off to question it. He went up to the door and knocked lightly to not startle the member inside.

"It's Lee Know, is everything okay?"

There was no response, which worried him.

He tried again, lowering his voice. "Seungminnie?"

Guilty dark brown eyes met Minho's in the crack of the door.

"Uhn, hyung? I um, I can't find the mop?" Seungmin paused, seeming reluctant to continue.

Logically he knew Minho would never tease him. He would never say or do anything of the sort to the littles, only doing his best to reassure and protect them.

But doubt seldom followed the rules of logic.

"Just get me some clothes. Or not. Nevermind."

He watched Minho nod and leave, returning in record time with a handful of clothes.

"Can you open the door for me, Minnie? Hyung wants to help."

"Hyung..."

The door swung open to reveal Seungmin standing in a puddle, a distinct dark patch of cloth clinging to his legs.

"You didnt make it in time, huh?"

Seungmin's eyes filled. He lowered his head and shook it with wobbly lips.

"Nonono it's okay! Hyung will make everything better, don"t worry."

Minho set the clothes aside and retrieved a spare towel, along with some cleaning supplies. He handed the towel to Seungmin.

"Okay big boy, can you shimmy out of those icky clothes? I won't look, just wrap yourself up in this and sit down over there."

He turned around and waited for Seungmin to finish undressing, dumping the soiled clothes into the washing machine once the little was comfortably seated with the towel wrapped around his waist.

The floor was cleaned quickly. Taking out a pack of wet wipes, Minho paused in front of the little.

"Do you want me to clean you up? Or do you want to do it yourself?"

He always asked the question, just in case the answer changed.

Seungmin squirmed, adjusting his grasp on the towel.

"You, please?"

"Okay. I want you to be comfy, that's all."

He tossed the towel in with the clothing and started the machine. It was easy to wipe him down and help him get dressed, though Minho wasn't sure why he was still pouting.

"Something wrong?"

"Coulda gone sooner, was up," Seungmin explained. "Made mess 'cuz is dark and scary, didn't go fast enough."

"I see, I don't like walking around alone at night either. You could have woken someone up."

"Didn't wanna bother hyungs."

Minho kissed his forehead once they washed their hands. "It wouldn't be a bother. You can wake us up."

"I a big boy," Seungmin mumbled.

"Big boys can be scared and have accidents too, okay?"

They decided to stay up another twenty minutes until Minho could dump the clothes in the dryer. He headed to his room and climbed in bed, sitting up when he heard some creaking. Then Seungmin was kneeling by his side holding his blanket.

"I sleep here?"

"With me? What's wrong with your bed?" Minho shuffled back to make room for him.

"Don't wanna be alone."

Seungmin hesitated, debating if he should crawl back to his own bunk, or give in to his want for a caregiver.

"Come here." Minho's voice was warm, welcoming Seungmin to join him. He took Seungmin's blanket and tucked him in, knowing how cold he got at night because Hyunjin kept the air conditioner on to sleep comfortably.

Following a bout of tossing and turning in a futile attempt to get some rest, Seungmin faced Minho, his eyes barely peeking out of his blanket cocoon.

The older was still awake, half-lidded eyes fluttering open as the two of them made eye contact.

"Would cuddling help?"

He pulled Seungmin into his arms, letting out a soft laugh as the little headbutted his chest.

"You don't have to be shy, it's okay."

"Is? M' not Channie." Seungmin tentatively lifted his head and tucked it under Minho's chin.

"I know we're always bickering, but you can rely on me. I love taking care of you guys, especially when you're tiny." He squeezed him.

That seemed to satisfy Seungmin. "Tell stowy please?"

"What kind of story, little one?" He carded through Seungmin's hair with his fingers.

"Hyung and Channie stowy."

Minho smiled.

"Okay. Chan hyung isn't very good at sleeping, and he tends to work a lot because he finds it fun, right? One night I found him at the studio, hours past the time he had promised me he would come home at. Most of the lights in the building were off, and I was the only other member there with him. I think all of you were asleep."

He paused to recall the scene.

"Hyung was packing up when I found him, he looked embarrassed. I said 'Channie, let's go home.' I held his hand on the ride here, and didn't let go until we were in our room. Then I helped him wash up, dressed him and sang to him. He told me I didn't have to look after him, and I said something like 'yeah, I know, but I want to'. And I kept singing until he was sleeping peacefully."

His hand shifted between Seungmin's back and his blanket, tracing aimless patterns on him. "It's not a very adventurous story, sorry about that. I like those little moments."

Seungmin hummed. "I like the stowy. Hyung's nice an' sweet."

He paused, trying to articulate his gratefulness and fondness of the older out loud. In the end he couldn't bring himself to say it in so many words. "You know what I feel 'bout you. I don't hafta say it, do I?"

"No, you don't. I know, you know, Lee Know."

The little giggled.

"I'm not good with my words either, but I want you to know that I'm here if you need me, for anything. Sweet dreams, Seungmin."

He yawned and nestled in the crook of Minho's shoulder, sleep finally overcoming all other thoughts in his head.

Minho cooed, not daring to move in the slightest. He fell asleep thinking of his cats and how he'd stay in the same position for hours to avoid disturbing them.

They roused in the morning to the sound of Hyunjin calling for Seungmin. Minho yanked his curtain aside with a groan, ready to berate Hyunjin for his volume when they had no schedules to fulfil.

"Why is Seungmin in your bed?"

Hyunjin stared at the pair from across the room. With the curtain drawn back Minho and Seungmin's arrangement was clearly visible to anyone in the room.

Minho draped his arms over Seungmin's shoulders, clasping his hands to 'trap' him.

"I have captured my prey," Minho said with a devious grin.

"Yah, don't dogs chase cats?" Seungmin pretended to try and escape his grip.

Hyunjin studied them for a second, then shrugged and went about his morning routine. With Chan asleep in the bunk above them, Minho and Seungmin were left to themselves.

"Do you want to get up?" Minho was answered with a negative hum.

Seungmin halted his movements and sank back into him. "I don't want to let go of you yet."

Minho exhaled, a hint of amusement in his breath. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing.

"Copycat." Seungmin stuck his tongue out.

Minho laughed.

Some things never change.


	20. teeny tiny tater tots

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LilithStarlight sent in a great fluffy request: "I'm not sure how it would start, if maybe the lils are too stressed, or they know if they keep going they will be too stressed, so they have a soft lil day together? I was thinkin about the Babies and when I read this update I realized I thought it would be really cute if they all tried to be really babies? like hyunnie's age or younger? seungmin being more comfy with it, chan trying being that small for the first time or smth, Hyunjin being cute as always hehe but also maybe being like. a lil helper with playtime bc he can show how to play with the baby toys  
> idrk if that makes sense haha but yeah, soft really lil time for all three babies would be really cute" 
> 
> This is going to be extremely soft, sweet and floofy :D I think about babyspace a lot actually, sometimes I wonder if I'd regress that young with the right environment. I tweaked the start a bit fyi, and since we haven't gotten baby Chan before this'll be sorta centered around him. 
> 
> Enjoy, and take care of yourselves! Don't forget to eat, drink, get some sleep and take breaks in the day! And if you need encouragement, I believe in you! You can do it :D
> 
> [stuffed dragon](https://www.stuffedsafari.com/Small-Stuffed-Blue-Dragon-Bright-Fancies-p/ar-16702.htm)
> 
> [bunny security blanket](https://www.stuffedsafari.com/Plush-Brown-Bunny-Baby-Blanket-Lil-Snuggler-p/dg-1402.htm)

"H-hey guys, can we talk-can I talk to you for a minute?"

Hyunjin stood by the door, rubbing one foot against the other's ankle as he waited for the two members in the room to respond.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?" Chan, who had been working on a track until then, removed his headphones and patted the space beside him, inviting Hyunjin to sit.

Seungmin raised an eyebrow at Hyunjin's expression. "You look like you're about to confess to someone. I'm flattered, really, but-"

He got cut off by Hyunjin tackling him onto his bed. "Seungmin, shut up you big dork."

"Yeah yeah Romeo. No seriously, why do you look so nervous? I could poke you and you would jump five feet into the air. Probably hit your head on the ceiling too," he mused, making Hyunjin laugh.

Chan smiled at them. "Go on Hyunjin."

"I was wondering if, and you guys don't have to, all of us could regress tomorrow? We have a few big schedules coming and I want to spend one of the last free days we have with...you. Hey cut that out!"

His ears burned and he buried his face in his hands when he noticed the wide grins the others had.

"Is that all? We've been through this conversation like, ten times now. Come on, don't tell me you're nervous about asking us. You weren't embarrassed to ask us last time. I'm up for some downtime," Chan chuckled to himself.

Seungmin eagerly nodded. "I want to be little too, count me in!"

"That's not all," Hyunjin sighed, mustering up the courage to continue. "I kind of want to, I won't make you, but maybe..."

"At this rate it'll be next week before you tell us what you want to say."

"Ugh, fine. I want you guys in babyspace with me. There, I said it." He let out a breath, collapsing onto the bed.

"Oh that would be _fun_ , I don't think we've been babies together yet. I might be shy at first, you know me."

Hyunjin smirked. "That's a given. Uh, Chan hyung?"

"I'm thinking, Hyunie. I've never been full baby before. I'd like to try."

"Really?"

The way Hyunjin sprung up and turned to him with wide eyes made his heart melt.

"Of course, Jinnie. That is, if our caregivers aren't too busy tomorrow."

"On my way to tell them!" With that, Hyunjin darted outside, like a puppy that heard its treat bag being opened from two rooms away.

Seungmin woke up easily enough in the morning once Minho and Jeongin were out of bed.

"Dada!" He squinted and made grabby hands for the maknae, placing his head on the younger's shoulder to rest.

Jeongin hummed. "Good morning my sleepy beepy sheepy."

That got Seungmin to giggle. "Dada silly. M' pubby, Hyunie sheep."

He let Jeongin snuggle him and talk him down in his sleepy state, babbling and giggling soon after. Then he took Jeongin's hand and toddled away, planning on regressing younger after breakfast.

That had been the calm part.

After carrying Seungmin around until Jeongin was done eating, Minho headed back to their room to wake his own little. He liked keeping Chan on a decent meal schedule on the days he would regress, so he would let him sleep more after a meal if necessary. He opened the door as quietly as he could, surprised to find Chan awake, and seemingly in headspace.

The leader hadn't noticed Minho because he was turned away from the door, kicking his feet and whispering to himself. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, hesitating to speak.

Now, Minho was used to Chan babbling short sentences in a slightly incoherent manner. But this? This was different.

His heart filled with a certain warmth and protectiveness at the sound of Chan squeaking and mumbling gibberish softly, testing out his baby voice. It was scratchy, sure, and Minho could hear restraint, maybe even insecurity. Still, it might have been the most adorable thing he had ever witnessed.

Until Chan turned around and noticed Minho watching him.

The smile playing on his lips disappeared, replaced with a wobbly pout and watery eyes. He started wailing, _loudly_.

Before Minho could make a move, though, Hyunjin shot upright at the noise, grimacing and crying in sympathy. Either that, or he was upset at being woken up at that volume. Probably both.

"Jinnie, oh dear." Minho stayed rooted in his spot for a few seconds longer, contemplating his next actions. The question weighed on his mind: who first?

It would be faster, _easier_ , to get to Hyunjin first. He was closer to Minho, in the lower bunk. All he needed was to be carried and told that he was okay.

However, Minho knew these first few seconds would be crucial in comforting Chan. He couldn't leave him alone to overthink about whatever set him off while watching his main caregiver help another regressor. That could unravel some of the trust Chan had in him, the thought leaving an unsettling buzz on his skin.

He didn't have it in him to deprive Chan of his Lily when he needed him the most.

"Jinnie, sweetie, it's okay. Sorry you woke up like that. I'll get Channie, okay?" Minho paused briefly to murmur the quick reassurance to Hyunjin as he passed by, ruffling his hair before climbing up the ladder to Chan's bed.

"Baby what's wrong?"

Chan shook his head, one fist at his eye and the other grasping at the air between them.

He breathed in relief when Felix rushed into the room, the two of them sharing a look as the Aussie tended to Hyunjin. He had made the right decision, he knew, as Chan clung to him, burying his face in his chest.

"Not baby, can't be baby."

"Why not, Chan-garoo?"

Chan kept shaking his head. Minho rubbed his back, waiting for his whimpers to subside. By then Felix had taken Hyunjin away, leaving the pair to work it out by themselves.

"No baby," Chan repeated, taking the tissue that Minho handed him to wipe his face and blow his nose. "Channie sound weird."

"Chan-"

"Soun' weird an' ev'yone gon laugh."

He bit his lip and dropped his head to keep more tears at bay.

"No one is going to make fun of you. If anyone does they're going in the time-out corner, little or not. I love listening to you, and I'm not just saying that." Minho paused, letting out a sigh when Chan stayed silent. "I'll be right back."

A small whine escaped him at the loss of contact as Minho climbed down, taking a minute to grab some things.

"Little one, look what I got you."

Chan sniffed, eyeing the items in Minho's hands as the younger joined him. There was a blue plush dragon with tufts of cream and pink spotting the fur. In Minho's other hand was a tan baby security blanket, fuzzy and complete with a bunny attachment.

He glanced upwards. "Channie touch?"

"Go on, they're all yours, and yours only."

Chan took the bunny blanket from him first, inspecting it and feeling the soft plush. It gave Minho the chance to carry out his plan with the dragon.

"Hi Channie," Minho held the toy in front of his face, pretending it was interacting with Chan. "What a nice bunny you have there."

Chan hugged the blanket to his chest and grinned toothily. "Bunny, bun-bun."

Minho put the dragon on the little's shoulder, making it turn to him and peck his cheek. Chan squealed.

"D'ag'n!"

"Yes baby, you've been wanting one for so long."

They all knew how much Chan loved dragons. He had confessed to Minho once, ages ago, that the mythical creatures made him feel excited, and smaller. The younger had promised him that one day he would buy him one. And true to his word, Minho had bought it along with the baby blanket, saving them for the right time. Which was now.

He could already see the effect the cuddly plush had on Chan's headspace, the little kicking and biting onto one of the bunny's ears.

"Ah-da! D'ag'n, da-da-dag'n," he babbled. He took the plush toy from Minho and pressed his cheek to it, relaxing in his lap.

"Are you happy?"

He couldn't help but smile as Chan gurgled, almost unbashedly in his younger headspace.

"Da, ahh-pa! Papa, papa! Da-n-bun!" The little exclaimed proudly, shyly turning away as Minho leaned close and made kissy sounds, finally popping a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm papa now? You keep giving me names and making me happy." Another kiss. "Is there a name you'd like when you're feeling this tiny?"

Chan snuggled into the crook of his shoulder. "Ducky! Papa, papa appa ducky, papa, ducky, da-ducky."

"Okay ducky, up you go. You have to wash up and we have to eat."

He lifted Chan onto his hip, not missing the little's agape and smiling mouth as he clutched his new blanket and stuffie. After taking a moment to commit the scene to memory, he started walking.

Hyunjin squealed behind his pacifier immediately upon seeing Chan, dropping his blocks and squirming in Changbin's lap.

"We're coming," Minho chuckled, thankful that he had decided to have Chan meet the others after feeding him. He gently put Chan down beside the other regressor and took a seat.

Hyunjin squeaked, pointing to Chan's newly acquired comfort items. The older whined, hiding them against his chest.

"They're his, sweetie. Like your paci or Minnie's pup," Minho explained. With a nod, Hyunjin turned back to his foam blocks, picking one up and holding it out to Chan.

Felix, who had been poking at the blocks with Hyunjin, cooed. "Aw, he wants to play with you! We're making towers, Channie. Wanna play with blockies?"

Chan nodded slowly, putting his bunny and dragon in his lap. His fist closed around the block, and he waved it around before placing it on another. Then Hyunjin piled one more on top, clapping.

"Good job, little lamb." Changbin used Felix's nickname for Hyunjin, pinching his cheek as he giggled.

"Papa!" Tiny fingers tugged on Minho's shirt. He looked towards where Chan was pointing, his gaze ending up on the toy box.

"Take a look, ducky. Jinnie can help you, he knows where the good toys are."

The regressors crawled towards the box.

"Ducky? How cute!" Felix flashed his teeth, failing to suppress his grin every time Chan so much as breathed.

"Did he call you papa instead of lily?" Changbin asked.

Minho nodded, wiping a fake tear. "I've been promoted."

While Hyunjin helped Chan rummage around for the baby toys, Minho looked around the living room. "So we have a ducky, lamb and a puppy. We should start a farm. Wait, where's our puppy?"

"Nonverbal in Innie's room. Han's with them, but he should be here any minute," Changbin told him.

"Shh guys listen!" Felix whisper-yelled, gesturing to where Chan and Hyunjin were.

Chan was pointing at a silicone teether, making a noise of curiosity.

"Da?" Hyunjin picked it up and temporarily removed his pacifier, making a biting motion to show him how the teether worked. He handed it to the other, who fiddled with it for a bit.

Chan bit down hesitantly, eyes lighting up as he chewed. "Da!"

"They're communicating." Changbin whispered.

Next, Hyunjin picked up a stuffed dog with a rattle inside, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he shook it.

"Wad'l! Wa-ah, awa-abuduh-ba-wa-ah!" Chan's nonsensical squeal was followed by a gasp, after which he cupped a hand over his mouth.

"Ducky, your baby talk is just perfect," Minho murmured as soothingly as he could.

A different voice spoke up.

"That is abso-tively posi-lutely the most adorable thing I have ever heard in my life!"

Jisung popped up seemingly from out of nowhere, startling Felix and gaining a side-eyed glance from Minho. Changbin rolled his eyes at his antics, while Hyunjin giggled.

"Hey you there, yes you, baby Channie," Jisung, on his knees, moved to the littles and held out a comb like it was a microphone, "What an amazing display of baby language to describe the joy rattles give you. The crowd goes wild. The judges give him an eleven out of ten. He wins the grand finale. Any thoughts?"

Chan blinked at him, then burst into peals of laughter, pointing at the rattle and babbling again.

Jisung nodded solemnly. "I see. That _is_ a very cute rattle. Mhm, mhm, I hear you. Maybe we should mass produce animal rattles, especially puppy rattles. I'm sure Seungmin would appreciate that."

Growing more impatient, Chan made grabby hands for the toy in Hyunjin's fist.

"Ah yes, of course, your prize. Mister Jinnie, if you will. And might I add, that is a lovely dragon. Yessiree, I haven't seen anything like this apart from a funfetti cake I saw in a store window."

Minho watched, half enchanted and half awed at the pure interactions between his little and soulmate. Or their leader and the maknae of 3racha. It astounded him sometimes, how well Jisung could handle the babies despite being treated as a younger member by the hyungs on a normal day, and Chan, as the oldest, could be so sensitive and vulnerable in headspace.

There was a small gasp from Chan. He stared at his dragon, holding it up. "Sp'inkles!"

"Sprinkles? Oh! A dragon named Sprinkles! You're a smart baby, hmm?" Jisung tickled his side.

People were complex, and as much as Minho joked about finding cats more interesting, he really did admire the relationships they all had with each other.

"You know," Minho began, trailing off to watch Hyunjin shriek and jabber away, swatting at the comb in Jisung's hand. He handed Chan the rattle toy, then they conversed through squeaks and noises, unintelligible to the others.

"Yeah?" Jisung turned to Minho, as did the other caregivers.

"You're good at making him feel comfortable. He was insecure about his baby speech."

"I'm just doing my thing-woah!" He tripped while backing away from the littles, comically landing on his back. "I'm okay!"

Said littles laughed at his predicament.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comedy gold." He shook his head and sat up, a grin plastered on his face.

"Babies love silly things. Like you," Changbin stated.

"Like us," he retorted, wrapping his arms around Hyunjin when he crawled past him.

"Pa!" Chan crawled back to Minho, somehow managing to carry the rattle, blanket and stuffie at the same time, holding the teether ring in his mouth. "S'inkl's."

"Yes, it's a lovely name for a pretty dragon. Sprinkles." The caregiver held Chan as he played with the rattle, content with cuddling him.

"Look who it is!"

Felix poked Minho's arm and smacked Changbin's repeatedly to get their attention.

Seungmin, sucking his paw print pacifier and dressed in a puppy onesie, took a few wobbly steps into the room. Jeongin stayed behind him, ushering him forward.

"There Minnie, that's it, yay! You're doing so well!"

Hyunjin tilted his head. "No carry?"

The younger regressor took another unsteady step, stumbled, and sat down. Jeongin gave him, and Hyunjin, an apologetic look.

"I can't carry him much these days."

The second-youngest's eyes filled with tears. He wriggled, scowled, and said something vaguely similar to 'carry'. Huffing, he began to crawl at a snail's pace.

Minho shook his head, moving Chan to Felix's lap. "You could have called one of us."

Chan whined quietly as he was shifted, not putting up much of a fuss. He patted Felix's face once he was satisfied, more interested in the Aussie's freckles.

In one smooth motion, Minho scooped Seungmin up. He swung him around, blew a raspberry on his stomach, and nuzzled him.

"Show-off," Jeongin muttered through his eye smile, half-joking. He envied the ease with which the older members could carry the regressors. "I need to work out more. He was feeling too little to crawl earlier, let alone walk."

Minho was pleasantly met with clingy fists and the smallest of hums when he tried to separate himself from Seungmin.

"Puppy, wanna say hi to Channie and Jinnie?"

Seungmin's eyes flitted around until he found said members, his grip not relenting on Minho's shirt. He brought his legs up further, unwilling to be put on the floor.

"Here, I'll bring you closer."

Whines of protest met his ears once they were seated between Felix and Jisung, each holding a little.

"Dada, dada, da-" Seungmin sank down as soon as he was in the maknae's arms. It was reassuring for Jeongin to know he was his safe place, although his whines continued.

"Something wrong?" He asked. He could assume the cause of Seungmin's distress from his refusal to sit anywhere other than his lap.

"We've been through this pup, just give them a chance. No one's gonna make fun of you. You can sit with me later if you really don't want to play, okay?"

Seungmin blinked slowly. He nodded and untangled himself from Jeongin, sparing a few glances over his shoulder as he shuffled to the middle of the floor.

Hyunjin scrambled out of Jisung's lap to pat Seungmin's head, Chan showed him the puppy rattle, Seungmin pointed at the bunny blanket, and soon they were comfortably wriggling around, playing and squealing together.

Apart from the occasional cry or squeak, all was calm and quiet in the dorm.

"Sun'ie," Hyunjin mumbled some time later, whispering in Jisung's ear. The latter nodded and helped him up.

"Potty break, be right back."

Hand in hand they went out of the living room.

Chan decided he wanted a snack, so while he was busy jabbering to Minho, Seungmin took the opportunity to lie down and turn to Jeongin. He spat out his pacifier and peered at the younger, bringing his fists to his mouth.

"You...want a bottle?"

He bobbed his head up and down, eyes wide with longing.

"Hyungs, can one of you-"

"One bottle of 'nana milk for the puppy coming right up." Changbin leapt to his feet. "I know he won't let you leave him right now."

Felix scoffed, amused. "You just want to see Channie in the kitchen."

"Is that a crime?" He beamed and disappeared into the kitchen.

It only took a few minutes for Jisung to return with Hyunjin on his back. Felix kept him busy while Jisung washed off Seungmin's pacifier; that way Jeongin could pocket it for later.

Changbin reappeared with a bottle, bringing Minho and Chan in tow. Minho held a bowl of fruit cut into bite-sized pieces, settling at the table with Chan while Changbin joined the others.

"Thanks hyung." Jeongin took the bottle and pulled Seungmin onto the couch. He made sure the regressor was leaning on him comfortably, shifting him so he could stay upright.

Seungmin squirmed in anticipation, going slack once Jeongin had eased the nipple into his mouth. His eyes fluttered shut as he drank, his relaxed expression and curling toes a precious sight for Jeongin.

He looked around the room, wondering what the others were thinking, feeling. Minho was spoon-feeding Chan, Changbin and Jisung were playing with Hyunjin, Felix was admiring it all from afar, eyes meeting the maknae's momentarily.

They shared a knowing look, sure that all of the caregivers in the room were thinking the exact same thing.

Each one gazing at the regressors fondly, gentle fingers caressing them, comforting them, soft lips whispering in their ears and pressing light kisses to their skin, giving them the chance to unwind completely in their mental happy place. Each carer holding nothing but love for the babies in their hearts.

Each thinking, baby, I would do anything _and more_ just to see you this happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caregiver appreciation time! Y'all are the best <3
> 
> Also this took me a week, send kudos, comments or whatever. If you're a silent reader then thanks for the hits :) with love, cat/rafs ^._.^/


	21. raindrops and roses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seungyu's cute request: "I just wanna see Seungmin and Felix the best friends playing in the rain while Minnie is little, but what if they both got a cold afterwards, so they both took care of each other??" 
> 
> Aww they go splishy splashy and then start sneezing, well then. I feel like I could've done better but I hope this satisfies the request!
> 
> Okay but stay safe and healthy people, and remember that you're loved! 
> 
> (Also yes ik this was requested forever ago, I'm sorry ;-; I kinda went on vacation and left this req in my phone notes, then got busy with other stuff. Here are some hearts to make up for it💖💖💖💖💖)

"Did you like your milkshake, Minnie?" Felix asked, watching Seungmin skip ahead of him, wait for him to catch up, and start skipping again. 

"It was so good!" Seungmin beamed. He froze abruptly and blinked hard. "Uh-oh." 

"What is it?" Felix felt a cool drop of water splatter onto his forehead, and another on his arm. "Uh-oh is right. We're nowhere near the bus stop, it's at least a fifteen minute walk from here." 

By the time he finished the sentence it was drizzling rain, the sky having been overcast since the two of them had decided to go out for snacks before returning to the dorm. 

"We don't have umbrellas either!" Seungmin exclaimed, "It was sunny this morning." 

Within the next minute of walking it began rain harder, just short of a thunderstorm. Seungmin seemed to be having fun, twirling around and looking up to view the raindrops in awe. He shook off the excess water on his face and turned to where Felix was taking shelter under the canopy of a store. 

"Lix, we're soaking wet anyways," Seungmin told him, jumping into a puddle that was forming on the sidewalk with a wide grin. "Come on! We gotta get to the bus stop or we'll miss our bus!" 

A gust of wind blew more water in Felix's direction, dampening whatever hadn't been touched by the rain yet. He threw his hands up with an exasperated sigh. "I'm coming." 

He ran over to Seungmin, who took his hand and ran around him in circles. "Look up, look up Lixie!" 

Felix did look up, watching the downpour. It was an interesting angle, every single raindrop blurring into lines as they pelted at the world around them. 

Seungmin ran off squealing to jump in a few more puddles, and although Felix didn't stray from their path like him, he still managed to step foot in a few pools of water on the ground anyways. At one point he jumped in the puddles he saw for the heck of it, because if they were going to get wet either way they might as well have fun. 

"We're here!" The little cheered as soon as the bus stop was in sight, eagerly scrambling under its roof for protection. Felix followed him and laughed as he shook his head violently, sending droplets of water flying off his hair. 

"You are such a puppy." Felix ran a hand through his own hair, grimacing at the way it clung to his forehead and fingers. 

The wait for the bus was short, but once they were on it they realized how uncomfortable the ride would be in freezing, dripping clothes and wet hair. Not a single dry spot could be found on the pair. 

"Felix, I'm cold." Seungmin pouted. "I'm so cold my socks are crying." 

Felix chuckled at his wording. "Your socks are soaked from all those puddles. Oh my gosh, Chan hyung is going to kill us. Well, me, for letting you run around playing in the rain." 

"Uhhh we didn't know it would rain at all. Either way it doesnt matter if we played! We could've been grey and gloomy and grouchy like the sky but instead we had fun. We made the best out of it, so he can't be mad." Seungmin's bright smile made Felix feel a little lighter. 

"Let's hope so."

To their delight neither Chan nor Changbin, the only members at the dorm, were mad at them. Instead they were extremely worried, each exhaling a breath of relief once the pair arrived home. 

"Thank goodness you're back. It looks like it'll get worse out there, the others will be home by car but you guys were out so we were worried sick," Changbin rambled, his eyes widening once he saw the state they were in. 

Chan took one look at their drenched clothes clinging to their shivering bodies and their hair flattened over their foreheads and sighed. "You got caught in the rain, didn't you." 

"Yup, before the bus ride back." Felix put a hand on Seungmin's shoulder to steady himself as he kicked off his thoroughly soaked sneakers and propped them up against the wall to dry, as did Seungmin. 

"Go straight to the washroom and take a warm shower, both of you. I'll bring you clean, dry clothes," the leader instructed them, pointing to the bathroom. 

They grabbed their towels and shuffled inside to peel off their clothes. Before long they finished showering, dried their hair, and all was well. 

Until Felix sneezed while climbing into bed. 

"Oh no."

Felix woke up and instantly knew something was wrong. Apart from his stuffy nose and slightly sore throat, that is. He stretched and got out of bed, wondering where his roommates were. Neither Chan nor Changbin were in their beds. 

He got his answer when he opened the door. It sounded like everyone was flocked in one of the bedrooms, and upon reaching it he found out why. 

"I told you you'd jinx it!" 

"What? All I said was I hope they don't catch colds, it was freezing yesterday and it's flu season!" 

"Yep, jinxed it." 

Jisung and Hyunjin's conversation contributed to some of the noise, but the rest came from the voices of the other members that blended together as they spoke over each other, huddled together and looking at one of the beds. Hyunjin's bed. 

But if Hyunjin was by the door with Jisung, then who was in his bed? Felix left to wash up, then got involved. 

"What's going on?" He asked, his voice deeper from sleep and his sore throat, effectively gaining everyone's attention. 

"Alright, nothing to see here, go eat or wash up or whatever it is you haven't done, we have schedules to complete." Chan, authoritative as ever, shooed some of the members out, leaving just him, Felix, and the pair in Hyunjin's bed. 

"Seungmin has a really bad cold," Chan informed the other Aussie. "He woke up hours ago coughing his lungs out, but Minho got him to fall asleep again." 

"I," Felix paused to clear his throat, "I think I have a cold too." 

The statement was reinforced when he felt a tingle in his nose, turned around and promptly sneezed four times in a row into the crook of his arm. 

"I can see that." Chan handed him a tissue. It was then he noticed Seungmin laying in Jeongin's lap, the two of them at the foot of the bed. 

"Pup, I have to go, I'll be late." 

Seungmin's eyes were watery and his cheeks red. He sat up, letting his caregiver shift to the edge of the bed so he could stand up. 

"Is he little? He usually doesn't regress when he's sick." Felix peered at them, moving to sit beside Seungmin. 

"Usually." Jeongin gave him one last look before leaving the room. 

Chan sighed. "So I'm going to get you guys a day off today, maybe tomorrow depending on how you feel tonight. I don't know if I can stay, though, I have a few important things to finish and meetings scheduled; I'd rather not cancel them on such short notice unless I have to." 

Felix shook his head. "It's fine hyung. I can take care of us, I think." 

"Thank you for a day off, hyung," Seungmin mumbled, turning away to cough before resting his head on Felix's shoulder. "Go to work, it's okay." 

Chan smiled, heading towards the door. "I'm making you guys chicken soup for breakfast." 

The others nodded as he left. 

"So, what do you w-" Felix froze mid-sentence when he felt Seungmin shaking against him. He glanced down to see him rubbing his eyes with quiet sniffles. 

"Minnie? Why are you crying? Don't cry, Lixie's got you." The little leaned in for a hug, sighing as Felix wrapped his arms around him. 

"M' sick an' no one wants to be near me, no one gonna stay with me," he sniffed. 

"That's not true," Felix protested. "I'm right here." 

"You're sick! No one else wants to get sick from me 'cuz then they can't do vocals practice, so no one gave me hugs. Channie hyung touched my hair though." Seungmin reached up to pet his own head. 

"What about Innie? You were cuddling him when I walked in." 

He shook his head and reached for the tissue box nearby. 

"Begged him fo' cuddles fo' few minutes, said he don't wanna get sick. Why'd I get sick? M' so careful, don' drink cold things, sleep with blankie 'cuz AC on at night, bu' one day o' rain an', an' I sick," he whined. 

Felix wiped a few of his tears away. "Sometimes we get sick no matter how careful we are. Don't worry about a thing, okay? I'm here and I'm staying. I'm gonna take good care of our little Seungminnie, you'll see." 

The little nodded, taking a moment to sneeze into a tissue. He snatched a few more to blow his nose and wipe his tears. "Feel sad and icky." 

"I know baby, I know," Felix rasped, coughing to the side. "Why don't we get some water, maybe breakfast too. I'm getting hungry. You?" 

Seungmin giggled as Felix poked his stomach. "I'm hungry." 

They wandered into the kitchen hand-in-hand. Seungmin gasped at the smell of the soup on the table and bounced on his toes as he headed over to sit down. 

Felix passed Chan on his way to the table with a frown. The leader was on the phone, but focused on the sick members enough to mouth 'what's wrong' to Felix. 

"My nose is stuffed, I can't smell anything." Felix shrugged, taking a bowl of soup for himself. He was about halfway done eating when he saw Seungmin leave out of the corner of his eye, the little returning with his blanket wrapped around himself. He returned to his seat and fumbled for his spoon, grumbling when he couldn't hold his blanket and his spoon at the same time. 

"Want me to feed you? I don't mind," Felix offered, moving to the chair next to Seungmin. 

"But you're sick too..." Seungmin reluctantly spooned soup into his mouth, pouting when Felix finished his meal and went to the kitchen. He made a soft happy noise when the Aussie hugged him from behind and slid into his seat. 

"Chan hyung's doing the dishes for us while he's still here. Now open wide." 

With every gulp Seungmin winced, though it seemed he was trying to hide his pain. 

"Puppydog, does it hurt when you swallow?" 

Seungmin nodded. "Throat an' ears hurt. Wanna finish fast." 

Felix dutifully fed him the rest of the bowl's contents, helped him wash his hands, wiped his mouth and pulled him into his bedroom. The members filed out of the dorm one by one, the last being Chan, gazing at them with an apologetic expression. 

"Let me know if anything happens," he said for the third time in ten minutes. "And take your medicine." 

"Yes, hyung, we will." Felix petted Seungmin's head, curled up in the former's bed. "See you later." 

The front door closed and locked, the click resonating through the stillness of the empty dorm. Finally, they were alone. 

"Can we watch something, please?" Seungmin requested in a hushed tone, speaking in his normal voice. 

"Of course. Are you still feeling small?" Felix pulled out his laptop. 

"Kinda? I'm tired of doing my little voice." 

"Do what makes you comfy. You don't have to be fully little or not." A while later he poked what he hoped was Seungmin's arm underneath the blanket he was bundled in. 

Seungmin blinked, realizing he had zoned out. 

"What do you want to watch?" 

"Uhh you pick?" He handed Felix the tissue box when he sneezed repeatedly for a whole minute. 

"Thanks." Once Felix had composed himself he chose an episode of one of Seungmin's favourite cartoons at random. They settled in a comfortable position where they could cuddle and have a good view of the screen. Seungmin's thumb eventually gravitated to his lips. 

"Should we get your paci?" 

The little shook his head. "Can't use paci when sick. Germs." 

The soother would have been useless anyways considering how many times Seungmin had to cough up mucus and run to the nearest bathroom sink to spit it out. 

"Great, as if I wasn't feeling gross before," he muttered, lips curling into a small smile as he re-entered Felix's room. Said member was rearranging their pillows and Seungmin's blanket to form a nest, the cherry on top being Seungmin's stuffed dog laying limply in one corner. 

"Daengmo!" He crawled to the stuffie and hugged it. 

"We're putting the sheets and stuff to wash anyways when we're better, so we can toss your pup in too." Felix brought a bottle of liquid and a small medicine cup out in front of Seungmin. He whined, hugging his pup tighter. 

"I know, it's yucky. But it'll help with your cough. I just had some, it's not as bad as other cough syrups." Felix measured out the right dosage and handed it to him. He set the bottle on his side table and took the glass of water he had prepared earlier. 

"Fine..." Seungmin downed the medicine, made a face and stuck his tongue out. "Ew. Water please." 

Felix chuckled, taking the tiny cup away as he finished half the glass of water and exhaled deeply. "Be glad you don't need cough syrup, Daengmo." 

He wriggled back to prop himself up on a pillow, pulling his blanket and stuffie into his lap. 

"Good job, Minnie! I'll go put these away." Felix kissed the top of his head. When he came back to the room he unceremoniously plopped onto the bed and held out a lollipop. 

"Fo' me?" Seungmin mumbled around his thumb, removing it hastily. 

"So you can suck on something comfortably without moving your hands from your blanket. Plus it'll get the taste of the medicine out of your mouth." 

Felix unwrapped the candy and popped it into the little's mouth. While he toyed with the lollipop stick, the Aussie leaned back and closed his eyes, sudden chills coming over him. He felt goosebumps forming, and his body was beginning to hurt. 

He let out an inaudible whine, opening an eye when he felt something being draped over him. 

"You're shivering." Seungmin attempted to push his blanket over Felix, frowning when it kept rolling off because he was sitting upright. 

Felix managed to scoot closer to Seungmin and cover both himself and the regressor with the blanket. "Thanks." 

"No problem." 

They may have still been sick, but in each others' presence they felt less terrible.


	22. safety first

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A while ago I got a request on my other agere Skz fic, Bubble Baths, about one of the caregivers getting a protective barrier for one of the beds to make it safe for littles when they're regressed to a younger headspace.
> 
> I ended up writing a little something about bed rails in the context of This Fic for myself and enjoyed reading it, and now I'm sharing it with you all so that you can read it and enjoy it too!
> 
> Here's the [reference pic](https://www.amazon.co.uk/3-SIDED-Toddler-Safety-Watchman-Cushion/dp/B07WFLHMX5) for what I had in mind while writing this chapter :)

When the members found a huge package in Changbin's room after it had been delivered that morning, they had no idea what to expect.

Changbin, of course, knew what he was unpacking, and Seungmin was the first to figure out what the giant box contained as soon as the outer wrapping had been torn off. He sighed.

"Let me guess, this is about me falling off of I.N's bed a few days ago, isn't it?"

"You did what?" Chan asked, whipping his head around to face him.

"Nevermind."

Changbin quirked an eyebrow and shook his head. "It's a safety precaution for when someone's in babyspace. I thought it'd be cute."

Jeongin leaned close to Seungmin. "I promised I wouldn't tell," he whispered.

He watched the hyungs pull out the frame and nets they would be setting up on one of the beds. The members who were not in charge of assembling were scattered around the room, none of them asking any questions. Yet.

He did a mental headcount, included himself, and frowned. Seven people, so who was-

"Hey, where did Hyunjin go? He was here a minute ago." Felix asked, interrupting Seungmin's thought process but giving him the answer he needed. He shrugged and went back to his conversation with Minho.

Seungmin stood up and left the room, less discreetly than he wanted to since he had to maneuver around the unassembled pieces on the floor that Jeongin and Jisung were organizing. He tiptoed past Chan and Changbin on the floor as they tried to make heads or tails of the instructions manual, and slipped out of the room.

"Hyunjinnie," he called out, finding him in their room.

Hyunjin was hugging his knees to his chest, making himself look even smaller by curling up and hiding his face in his arms when Seungmin came into view. He whined as Seungmin sat down next to him.

"What's wrong? Jinnie, bub?"

He lifted his head. "I already feel small and you're not helping," he said quietly. "I had a stupid thought a few days ago, and sort of talked to Changbin hyung about it, which is probably why he bought that thing."

He proceeded to curl up again, this time laying on his side.

Seungmin patted his head.

"Hey, can I hear the thought you had? 'Cause I doubt it's as stupid as you think."

He heard a huff. "So maybe it isn't stupid, but it's still embarrassing."

"Either way no one else has to know." Seungmin leaned over to stick his pinky out in front of Hyunjin's face, grinning when Hyunjin linked his pinky with it.

"I was thinking about how I tend to crawl off of furniture in headspace, a sofa or a bed. More often than not I smack into the ground. So I told hyung and he was like, oh we could get wooden rails for the bed, and I said no way because I didn't want to feel boxed in, you know? It'd be suffocating in a way. Then again..."

He blushed, choosing not to finish the sentence. "Anyways, he looked stuff up and showed me a picture of the mesh bed rail things, and I liked the idea of those better. He said he would consider getting them. I didn't think he would go through with it."

"I refuse to believe that's why you're so embarrassed, Hyunjin." Seungmin took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "The other day I was alone with Innie and was, well, baby. He left the room and I think I tried following after him but the next thing I knew, thud."

He imitated how he had sounded crying on the floor that day, which made Hyunjin giggle. "See? It's pretty funny, not bad enough to make me, or you, want to regress from thinking of it. I know you too well to believe that falling to the floor would embarrass you that badly. What's gotten you so worked up, hm?"

Hyunjin dropped eye contact, fingers grasping Seungmin's hand firmly. "I'll tell you 'cause you're you and no one else."

Seungmin nodded solemnly.

"You ever sit in bed, or on da floor, an' look up so everything looks bigger so you feel tinier? Sometimes when 'm lil I don' feel, uh, safe. Could get huwt on tings, scawy. W-wan," he gestured to the edges of the bed, "Pwotect. N den I can wook up n feel smallew."

"Aww, is that it? You want the safety of a crib? That's okay! I want to be safe and feel small when I'm in babyspace too." Now he understood why Hyunjin felt the way he did, instinctively rubbing his back to comfort him.

"Is otay? N-not a baby?"

Seungmin shook his head at Hyunjin's pout. He knew Hyunjin was thinking of 'baby' as an insult. The word was thrown around carelessly in the world, which only increased the littles' struggle of accepting their younger headspaces. Although Seungmin was still working on his own insecurities, still hesitant to believe he was allowed to be so vulnerable at times, he knew how to reassure Hyunjin.

The same way Jeongin had reassured him time and time again.

"Yes, it's okay, Hyunjin. You are a baby, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Someday he would wholeheartedly believe the latter part for himself.

For now, it was enough to relax Hyunjin's scrunched-up facial features.

"Seungmin, Hyunjin! Where'd you two go?"

It was Chan who poked his head into the room. "There you are. What's the use in turning Han's bed into a makeshift crib if two out of three regressors aren't there to test it out?"

"It's done? Great, I think Jinnie here would love to try it out, isn't that right sweetie?"

Chan's eyes lit up in realization as Seungmin nuzzled Hyunjin. He went over to them and lifted Hyunjin onto his hip.

"Cute little thing, you are." Chan cooed.

Hyunjin smiled softly at that, wrapping his arms and legs around the leader.

The trio stopped in the doorway to Jeongin and Jisung's room.

"Why do the tiny ones sleep in bunk beds? You really had to pick the one room with no littles to set up the bed thingies." Jisung folded down one of the barriers and sat down. "You're mistaken if you think this will keep me out of bed. If anything, I'm never leaving my bed again! It's like a fort!"

He grinned, leaning back.

"Is it possible for you to stay in bed even longer than usual?" Minho snickered.

Jisung glared at him playfully. "Try me."

While Minho and Changbin attempted to drag him out of bed, with Felix and Jeongin laughing at the scene unfolding in front of them, Hyunjin whined and squirmed in Chan's hold.

"We're going, we're going, shh, it'll only be a minute. Your hyungs are being silly, that's all." Chan's soothing voice effectively stopped the commotion in the room. For a moment, anyways.

Then Changbin nearly dropped Jisung's legs, the younger yelled, and Minho quickly set him on his feet on the floor.

"Ahem. Babies and gentlemen, I present to you, drumroll please," Jisung smoothed out his clothes before kneeling beside his matress and motioning to it, "The baby bed!"

As soon as Chan put Hyunjin down on the bed, he calmed down, crawling around to explore the new attachments. He placed his palms on a mesh window and pushed lightly, giggling when it stayed up. He got on his knees and grabbed the top edge of the barrier, grinning widely at the others.

Some of them crowded around him, but Jeongin stopped short when he noticed Seungmin slinking into the back, fidgeting in the way he always did when he was about to slip into headspace.

"You wanna be small, pup?"

Seungmin's gaze fell to the floor. "I don't have a good reason to."

Jeongin snorted, eyeing Minho and Changbin sneaking up behind the little. "Up you go."

The older men lifted Seungmin up just as they did Jisung, only this time the landing was much more graceful as they gently sat him down in the middle of the makeshift crib.

Seungmin opened his eyes when he was ready, widening them as he glanced at the walls around him.

Oh.

 _Oh_.

This was new.

Hyunjin froze mid-crawl as Seungmin sniffled and started crying, slipping far into headspace.

"Aw puppydog, don't cry! We're here." Felix stuck his hand inside the crib (or not-crib, depending on who you asked), letting Seungmin squeeze his fingers for comfort.

"I'll get his pup," Jeongin said, walking to the other room.

Changbin and Jisung got busy with entertaining Hyunjin on the other side of the bed, and Jeongin and Felix ended up cooing at Seungmin once he was reunited with his stuffed dog.

"You want to join them?" Minho nudged Chan after retrieving two baby bottles full of water and placing them on a side table. Chan laughed, giving him a shy smile.

"Maybe later, Lee Know."

The younger male nodded. "Just call me whenever, ducky."

Chan made a small noise and hit his shoulder.


	23. safety first pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my lovely readers, I am back with the requested sequel to the last chapter! I've been really busy recently (in a good way) so I had to write this over 3-ish days. This is a minchan-centric chapter! Have fun with that :D I hope you like it!

No one was in the room. 

Now was the perfect chance. 

Chan peeked out the door to make sure no one was nearby before pulling down the nearest bed rail and sinking into Jisung's bed. 

He saw the appeal as soon as he repositioned the safety rail. The walls around him made him feel secure, and as a result the room felt out of reach. Sitting on the bed off of the floor also made Chan feel small in safe in an abstract way he couldn't put into words. 

If he was being completely honest with himself, he would accept that he wanted to regress, and go straight to Minho and tug on his sleeve. 

"Nice. They'll have fun," he said, with a small smile and eyes filling with a glint of wonder. 

Like he often did, he shoved his feelings in a drawer in the back of his mind and turned around to scoot off the other end of the bed. 

And then he met eyes with Minho. 

They didn't need words to communicate. Chan knew Minho, and all of his members, like the back of his hand. Minho was so accustomed to Chan's presence, his tells and habits that he knew exactly what the leader was feeling, or hiding. 

"Hyung-" 

But before Minho could get two words out, Jisung bursted in with Seungmin, spinning the regressor around. 

Chan used the opportunity to rush out the door, leaving Jisung confused as he helped Seungmin into the bed. "Did we interrupt something?" 

Changbin also peered into the room with concern. 

Minho glanced at the door, and sighed. "What am I going to do with this hyung, seriously. It's been weeks since he last regressed and I know he has other ways to deal with life, but he's been overworking himself again. I don't want to make him regress but he's clearly holding back, I can feel it." 

The others nodded, except Seungmin who wriggled around with a peaceful expression. 

"He's been spending way too long at the studio," Jisung agreed. "We told him to take a break, but you know him. He loves his work and forgets to do some self care every now and then." 

Changbin came into the room to get closer. "Chan hyung forgot to eat lunch yesterday because he was working. He barely sleeps too." 

"He doesn't know I saw this, but the other day he seemed half-regressed at his desk. He zoned out at his laptop and giggled while playing with his hoodie strings. I know it's not much, but he had that look on his face," Jisung added. 

Minho knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"Can I trust you two to keep from going to the studio today? I have a plan."

The plan consisted of sending the others to their rooms temporarily. Han would be with Changbin and Felix while Jeongin would be with Seungmin and Hyunjin, giving Minho and Chan the room all to themselves. Of course, Chan had noticed none of it until Minho tapped his shoulder after lunch. 

The leader had his eyes glued to his laptop, but Minho's hand on him had his head whipping around in an instant. 

"Lee Know? What's up?" 

Said man clicked his tongue, turning his attention to what Chan had been working on. "Save your work, hyung." 

Chan knew better than to argue, especially with the fond tone the other used. He put everything away and let Minho take his hand and guide him to the two-person bedroom. The younger's authoritative hold on him, the way he closed the door and gazed at him expectantly, it made his insides flutter. 

"What's this about?" He asked, watching Minho blink at him a few times. 

"You need to take a break. Come on." 

He was pulled to Jeongin's bed, and noticed his neck pillow and stuffed dragon were on the other bed with the rails. 

"It's up to you how you do it. I won't force you, but I'm here for you. If you regress we can cuddle there. If not we can just chill here." 

Chan was touched. He smiled with mischief in his eyes. "What if I'm not little, but want to cuddle? Would I be ruining your reputation?" 

He laughed heartily as Minho yanked him into a hug. "You know I like playing hard to get with hugs, but if anyone really needs one I won't reject them." 

Chan relaxed in his arms, resting against him for a few minutes. "If I'm little, would I be taking the bed away from them? There's not much room for three babies to crawl there." 

Minho gave him a funny look. "Need I remind you that four of five of us can cuddle on the couch at once? A bunk on the ground is enough for all of us compared to that. Why, do you think you'll get in the way of us taking care of the babies?" 

Chan pressed his lips together. 

"Channie," Minho groaned, "You know that's not true. We have five members to take care of you guys. They miss playing with you. The more the merrier, right?" 

His grip tightened around the older, which he noticed. "Lee Know?" 

"I miss you," the dancer confessed softly. "I know it's okay if you don't regress, but I also know you want to regress, you just don't. You like putting the kids first. I want you to put yourself first today, hyung. It's okay." 

All he had to do was pet Chan's hair soothingly for him to willingly slip. "Lily?" 

"Yes cubby?" 

"Wan' Minnie an' Hyunie in bed." He pointed at the baby bed. "Channie be baby?" 

Minho cooed. "Channie can be the smallest baby." 

He walked Chan over to the makeshift crib in the room and helped him in, whispering apologies for not being able to carry him. Even if Chan was bigger than him, he would always be his baby. 

"You guys can come in now!" He called out, grinning as the members entered the room. 

"Der, ova' der!" Hyunjin whined, pointing to Chan and repeating himself until Changbin carried him over. He squealed and poked Chan's cheek once they were sitting side by side. 

"Come on Minnie, you can nap here with your brothers," Felix whispered, carrying a very sleepy Seungmin in and laying him with the others. 

Hyunjin started bouncing and babbling around his floral pacifier, excited to be reunited with the other regressors. Chan kept his fists curled in Minho's shirt, unwilling to let him go so easily. 

"Baby boy, I'm not going anywhere." He climbed in and pulled up the mesh barrier. "See?" 

"Pa," Chan mumbled, snuggling him. 

Minho beckoned for Jeongin to get him a baby bottle of chocolate milk. He pulled Chan into his lap as the maknae left. "Yes Channie, papa's here. I'm always here." 

Hyunjin and Seungmin wanted in on the cuddles, so Jeongin returned to find all three regressors piled onto Minho, tangled up in each other. 

"Too crowded hyung?" He teased, making the other members chuckle. 

Minho just smiled. "It's the good kind of crowded. If they're safe and happy, then so am I."

**Author's Note:**

> Requests are open! :D go wild, cats <3


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